


Amalia Humingbird

by the_1st_zombie



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-01-24 21:50:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 39
Words: 31,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21345250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_1st_zombie/pseuds/the_1st_zombie
Summary: Amalia comes from the capitol. She used to guide the ones going in the arena and the ones who come out, the victors.She gives them therapy and helps them with everything that follow when you win the games.The story starts after the Quartelquel ended, but it didn't end how president snow wanted to. Amalia helps with the rebelion. She believes they can win and that justice will follow. How that will happen is something she doesn't know yet. But she believes in herself in Katniss, the MockinjayThis story can also be found on Wattpad under the same name.All rights belong to Suzanne Collins, only Amalia and her storyline belong to me.
Kudos: 4





	1. Part One: The Trail

District 12, there is almost nothing left of it. The houses fell apart, everything is turned into ashes and most of the people that lived here burned with it.

Through the ashes walks one girl, the shock and devastation are seen on her face. She is important enough to be watched from the sky. And she is! This is Katniss Everdeen, but most people know her as the Mockingjay.

……………….

Katniss stands still. She looks around her, she believes it’s her fault: ‘If I didn’t …. Maybe this…’ She mumbles to herself, quiet enough so only she can understand what she is saying, even with the microphone that’s attached on an earpiece. She tries a practice that one of the doctors gave her: _‘I’m Katniss Everdeen. I’m Seventeen years old. I’m from district twelve. I was in the hungergames … and I escaped. The capitol hates me. Peeta is captured by them. They think that he is dead. He probably is. Maybe it would be for the better if he was dead...’_

‘Katniss, Katniss, do you want me to come down there?’

She hears him. It’s Gale, her best friend, maybe one of the only persons she fully trusts. Him, her mother and her sister. He is her best friend and she is happy to have someone to talk to, someone who doesn’t expect anything from her.

‘Katniss.’ She hears him repeat her name again. She stands up again. She realizes how this would look to them, the people in the hovercraft. It looks like she is spiraling down again, and they were just talking about lowering her medication. She stands up: ‘No, it’s ok. I’m ok.’ And in that note, she walks towards her old house.

Gale wanted to be dropped off with her, but she said no. He understood it but didn’t change that he asked her again and again If she was sure. She needs this, to be here alone, to face what she did. She keeps walking and sees what remains of them, the people who ran for their lives, but didn’t find a way out, because of her arrow. She, Katniss Everdeen shot the forcefield. She hears what President Snow said: _‘The girl on fire created the spark that could put all Panem on fire and turn it into a sea of flames.’_

She thinks of the one’s that got away and that was only because of Gale. He drove as many of them towards the fence and towards the only open place he knew about. And they exited expectations by holding on for three days until district 13 took over.

They excepted everyone, gave them food and shelter. The kids could go to school, there are trainings for them to be able to work later and everyone from the age of 14 gets military training and gets to be ‘a soldier’. There was still something that she didn’t trust about it….

………..

Katniss walks past the bakery where Peeta used to live with his parents and two older brothers. They didn’t make it. They weren’t waiting for his return. Except for me….

She takes a step backwards and stumbles against a metal structure. It’s what remains of the pillory and the gallows. Her mind immediately goes back to the Capitol where Peeta is. She sees flashes of images about they could torture him – by holding his head under water – being cut open or getting electrical shocks. She closes her eyes, wanting to send him message so he knows that he isn’t alone, that someone is thinking of him.

She runs away from the square towards the only place that isn’t touched by the fire. The grass isn’t as green anymore and there is the same grey snow as everywhere else in the district. But when she is inside the house where she lived… Lived after the hungergames everything is the same…. Almost.

She slides against the door until she sits on the ground. Why did she come back here? Did she really think that the house would give her answers? That it could tell her what to do? Everyone tries to talk with her, convince her… Plutarch Heavensbee and his assistance Fulvia Cardew, all the different district leaders, some high officers from the military, but never Alma Coin, the president of district 13, she just looks. And Amalia, she is like Plutarch someone from the capitol who rebels against president Snow. Coin seems to trust her. Katniss used to trust Amalia herself. Amalia, who never looked like she belonged in the Capitol and talked with her, in a way that Katniss considered her a friend. They have all one thing in common… They want her to be the Mockingjay.

…………….

Katniss takes a few things from the house. A photo from her parents wedding day, a blue ribbon for her sister Prim, the book where they kept all the eatable and medicinal plants, the leather jacket from her father and her hunter's bag with Prim’s cat Buttercup hidden inside. When she wants to leave, she sees one last thing on the desk. One white rose….

Nausea hits her immediately. How long did it stand here, a few days, one day or an hour?

Back on the hovercraft, Gale notices how pale her skin is: ‘Are you ok.’

‘Yes.’ She replies. This isn’t something he would understand. This is a message for her only: _‘I will find you. I don’t know how to reach you, but I’m watching you.’ _ A message from Snow himself.


	2. chapter 1

Amalia sits in a simple black chair that’s shoved against a wall in a little office. Plutarch Heavensbee sits in another chair in front of a white desks. He talks with Alma Coin; she is the leader of district 13 and she calls herself president Coin.

Amalia remembers arriving here. It was a difficult transition for the few people from the capital, except for her and Plutarch. She was never someone who needed much, she took what she needed. She never showed her wealth before, and still there is less now then she had before.

President Coin looks at her now: ‘You told me that this would help. I have taken your advice seriously but isn’t bringing me any closer to our goal.’

‘It is. Katniss will be your Mockingjay, but you cannot pressure her into it.’ Amalia replies.

‘Coin, if we listen to Amalia, we will have more change of success.’ Plutarch adds.

The three wristbands make a sound. You only have one if you’re important enough.

‘We need to go the headquarters.’ Plutarch says out loud when Amalia sees the same message on her wristband.

………

Amalia stands against the back wall close to the door, on the tv plays the capitol-TV. Normally it plays in the background, showing the war, props and a repeating image of the bombing of district twelve. Now Caesar Flickerman, sit in his usual set-up ready to interview someone. She sees Katniss and Gale arrive, but her attention quickly shifts back to the screen when Peeta walk on the stage.

Peeta is his guest. His walk is steady, he looks healthy and as weird as it sounds, seeing how good and strong he looks, it makes her more scared than before. Because now she thinks they torture him in a way that cannot be captured on screen.

‘So… Peeta welcome back.’ Caesar says when Peeta sits in his chair.

Peeta glances at the camera and you can see a small smile appear: ‘You probably thought that you had given me your last interview already, right?’

‘That’s true. I have to admit that.’ Caesar waits a second: ‘That was the night before the Quarter Quell… Who would have thought then that we would see you again?’

‘I had others plan for that.’ Peeta says and Amalia thinks back to that last conversation she had with him.

………

_‘She needs to win this, Amalia. Not me, but Katniss needs to come out this.’ Peeta tells her. He sounds so deiminated, but there is something else._

_‘I’m not having this conversation again. I want all of you to come back, I don’t want anyone to have to go in in the first place._

_Peeta sighs: ‘It’s… I know Haymitch lies about what he is planning. I know that Katniss asked him to protect me over her.’_

_‘She wants you to win as well, to live, to be able to go home…’_

_‘She is my home.’_

_………….._

They both came out and he was right Haymitch was planning something over his head.

Caesar speaks again: ‘I think we all know what you were planning. You wanted Katniss to win so she and your child could survive, isn’t it?’

‘Indeed, it’s as simple as that.’ Amalia sees his fingers follow the pattern on the side of the chair, it’s telling her something she doesn’t want to know. ‘But there were other people, with other plans.’ Peeta continues.

‘Maybe you can tell us something about that last night in the arena?’ Caesar suggests.

Peeta nods, takes a few breaths before he answers: ‘That last night… what can I tell you about that last night. You have to try and imagine yourself in that arena. We felled like insects trapped in a bowl filled with hotter air than you can probably imagine. And everywhere around you is this jungle…, green, alive and ticking. This enormous clock, that beats away the live in you with a new terror every hour.’

Peeta looks in the camera his eyes show a little more live now, like he is relieving the arena: ‘You have to imagine that the last two days sixteen people died, some of them to try and protect you… In that speed there would be seven more dead persons by the morning, except that one person that wins and gets to go home. And you’re not planning to be that person. As soon as you’re in that arena, the outside world doesn’t matter.’

Amalia hears the same kind of stories of almost all victors, no matter who is talking some things always come back.

‘You’ll have to kill people, how horrible as it sounds, but in the arena, there is only one wish you make, but you pay a very high price for it.’ Peeta continues.

‘You pay with your live.’ Caesar says.

‘Oh no, you pay with way more than that, killing innocent people?’ Peeta says: ‘You pay with everything that you are.’

`’Everything that you are.’ Caesar repeats, he almost whispers it.

You can almost feel the silence, and Amalia can imagine that it’s the same in front of every screen. He tells what is really like in the games.

‘You hold onto to that one wish and that night it was my wish to save Katniss. I knew something went wrong. I didn’t know of the rebels, but I already regretted that I didn’t listen to her. She asked us to leave the others and try to continue on just us two, but I told her to wait a night and then it was too late…’

‘You were stuck in Beetee’s plan to electrocute the salted lake.’ Caesar says.

‘We were too busy playing allies with them… I should have never lost her out of my sight.’ Peeta says, you hear his voice break: ‘Because that’s when I lost her.’

‘Katniss was the one who blew up the forcefield.’ Caesar tells him.

Peeta gets upset: ‘She didn’t know what she was doing nobody knew what the plan really was. You can see that she doesn’t know what she had to with the string.’

‘You have to admit that it looks suspicious. It’s like she knew all along what the real plan was.’ Caesar adds.

‘Oh yeah, was it a part of her plan to almost get killed by Johanna, or to be paralyzed by the forcefield.’ Peeta is shouting now: ‘She knew nothing. The only thing we wanted was to keep each other alive.’

‘Good Peeta, I believe you.’

‘That’s good.’ Peeta says and calms down again.

‘And you’re mentor Haymitch?’

‘I don’t know what he knew.’

‘Did he know about the complot that was playing out?’

‘He never mentioned it.’

‘But what do you think, honest?’

Peeta hesitates: ‘That I shouldn’t have trusted him.’

‘One more question: What is your opinion over the war?’

‘I want that everyone who is watching this… If you’re on the side of the capitol or with the rebels. I want you to think about what it would cause… For us as humans, we’re already almost extinct because the fighting. We are fewer in numbers already… Is this what we want… to murder each other and for what. I hope that things will become different?’

‘I don’t think, I’m not sure they understand your message Peeta.’

‘We don’t have to fight. Everyone should lay down their weapons as soon as possible.’


	3. chapter 2

Caesar Flickerman looks at Peeta ‘One more question: What is your opinion over the war?’

‘I want that everyone who is watching this… If you’re on the side of the capitol or with the rebels. I want you to think about what it would cause… For us as humans, we’re already almost extinct because the fighting. We are fewer in numbers already… Is this what we want… to murder each other and for what. I hope that things will become different?’

‘I don’t think, I’m not sure they understand your message Peeta.’

‘We don’t have to fight. Everyone should lay down their weapons as soon as possible.

The screen changes, and a woman appears. She is reading something from a list.

Amalia hears the others talk and some shout about how he is a traitor. He isn’t. There is something wrong, something must have happened…

‘You don’t have permission to leave, soldier Everdeen!’ Coin’s voice is heard above all of it.

Katniss shakes a hand from her shoulders and runs in the hallway. Coin wants another soldier to follow her, but Gale stops him abrupt. He stands in the opening of the door. Coin walks towards him and looks at him. ‘She didn’t have permission and neither have you.’

Amalia walks closer: ‘I think he has the permission to leave now? Or not?’

Coin doesn’t look at Amalia, but Gale glances at her.

‘But without your wristband.’ Coin states.

Gale doesn’t look bothered by it and gives it to her, before going in the same direction as Katniss.

‘You may find out it’s smart if Katniss can talk to him about the sudden change that happened?’ Amalia questions it, but Coin only nods. She knows it’s better to listen for now. Amalia had promised to help with Katniss.

………………

Gale goes and sit beside Katniss in her hiding space. She looks up: ‘What happened.’

She means the blood that comes from his nose, it had mostly stopped: ‘Boggs thoughted I stood in the way.’

‘Who is that again?’ She tries to laugh.

‘The one that tried to stop you.’

‘You fought with him?’

‘No, I only stopped him from coming after you.’ Gale explains.

‘You know they’ll punish you for this.’

He holds his wrist up: ‘They already did. They took my wristband.’

She tries not to laugh: ‘How awful, soldier Hawthorne.’

‘Don’t worry about it, soldier Everdeen.’ He smirks: ‘I don’t even know why I had it in the first place. She seemed to think it was a big degradation.’

‘You saw that blond woman? She was standing at the back of the room, against a wall. She looked different than I remembered, but not so much. She has wavy hair.’

‘Oh, you mean she isn’t from this district?’ Gale asks.

‘No, that’s Amalia and she is from the capitol.’ He raises an eyebrow: ‘yep, she isn’t that extra, but I think she understands. Why did you think she was from here?’

‘Now, Coin listens to her. Like when Amalia told Coin to let me leave.’

‘Oh, she probably knew you were going to follow me.’

‘They said she asked Coin to give me that wristband in the first place, but how…?’

‘That would be me. I told her about you, a bit…’ Katniss takes a breath: ‘In the capitol she talks with the everyone who goes in the games. She is nice, I’m not really surprised she is here. Nobody should lay down their weapons.’

‘You don’t have to convince me.’

‘Not but I needed time, now I need to become the Mockingjay.’

___________________________

Amalia takes her plate with food towards the table where she knows Katniss sits. She sees that Gales give her part of his vegetables. ‘You really have to stop doing that. It’s illegal.’ She hears Katniss.

Gale laugh: ‘They already have my wristband.’

Amalia sits down in front of them: ‘Katniss, you know who you are right? You can demand things.’

Katniss looks a bit surprised: ‘What that he can give me some of his food?’ Gale doesn’t say anything.

‘I wouldn’t ask that, but if you play along in there plan you can ask something you want. Like hunting, Katniss you said you two did that together.’

Katniss nods: ‘That could be a good thing. And you think that they’ll allow that?’

‘I may have tried it already.’ Amalia says: ‘I told them to let you visit district twelve and I made sure Gale only lost his wristband which I may add I wasn’t planning on you losing it already.’

‘Why?’ Gale asks surprised while Katniss asks: ‘What did she want.’ Katniss means Coin.

Amalia lowers her voice a bit, after she finishes the last bite of her food: ‘They’re a little too strict here and I mean a lot. So, I reminded her that it wouldn’t be good idea to lock him up or something. And for the wristband Gale, this is something I don’t need anyone else to know, I don’t really know who I can trust from here and I think I can trust you to help Katniss.’

There is a short silence when Katniss says: ‘Maybe I can ask her to free Peeta and the other victors from the capitol and give them immunity? You know he didn’t mean it?’

‘Good idea, you should now they think Peeta works against them, although he isn’t. Just don’t forget Annie Cresta.’


	4. chapter 3

Katniss and Gale sit next to each other at a table in the meeting room. Coin, Plutarch and some more people that have to make the important decisions sit at the table as well. Amalia stands behind an empty chair. ‘Take a seat Amalia.’ Coin suggests.

‘I rather stand, if that is ok?’

‘I would prefer it you would sit down.’

Amalia nods and sits down. Coin didn’t like they had brought Gale with them.

……….

_‘Katniss you can ask the impossible and they will have to agree. Remember that.’ Amalia says._

_‘Yes, and I will. Gale what do you have to next?’_

_‘History of nuclear weapons, where they noticed your absence Katniss.’_

_Katniss sighs: ‘Can you come with us to the meeting?’_

_‘I guess, but they’ll probably throw me out.’ Gale shrugs._

_‘They won’t.’ Amalia says and gets up. _

_Gale and Katniss follow. They are both confused on why she is so sure, but Katniss is the one who asks: ‘Why not?’_

_‘Because they would be stupid if they did it.’ Amalia sees that didn’t explain it to them: ‘It’s clear that he knows strategies and he is supportive of the cause to bring down the Capitol. But most and for all he knows you Katniss and how ridicule it may sound it has its advantages to be friends with you.’_

…………

Coin raises her voice and everyone in the room stops talking, their eyes are on Katniss. She has a paper where she had written a few things on. ‘You wanted to tell us something.’ Coin says stiff.

‘I will be your mockingjay, but I do have a few conditions.’ Katniss looks around after she says this. Some look surprised by this. If this is because she agreed to become their token or because she asked for conditions. Amalia nods encouraging: ‘My family can keep our cat.’

A few of them starts whispering and Amalia says: ‘Coin I think there can be made arrangements for this.’

‘I think so.’ Coin says slowly: ‘Do you have suggestions.’

‘Move them to one of the top rooms where is a window for starters.’

‘Yes, but what about thy safety of it all and how will it get food.’ Someone from district 13 says.

‘You mean closing times of the window and so on…’ Amalia thinks further: ‘Katniss how did your cat eat in district twelve.’

Katniss looks from Amalia to Coin: ‘The cat found his own food. He can do that here as well if he is allowed outside.’

‘Ok, the cat can go outside, but the window closes at nighttime. If he is not in by them, he stays outside and if for any other reason the cat brings something or someone in danger it will be shot.’ Coin decides: ‘something else, Katniss?’

‘I want to be able to hunt with Gale.’

‘We can stay close and the meat can be used in the kitchens to help feed everyone.’ Gale tells them.

Katniss adds: ‘If I cannot do this… I need the fresh air, and this will help me.’

‘This is a dangerous idea.’ Plutarch objects: ‘What is she gets hurt, and it would need security that we don’t have for that…’

Coin holds up her hand: ‘Let them have this. Two hours a day, within 400 meters. This will be taken from their training hours and of course they will wear anklets and transmitters.’

‘Is there more?’ Plutarch asks, he know he will not win this.

‘Gale, he needs to be with me everywhere.’

Amalia raises her eyebrow and Gale glances at her, Coins asks: ‘What do you mean, with you everywhere? Do you want us to use him as your new lover?’

Before Katniss can react, Plutarch says: ‘We cannot do that she will lose the sympathy of the rebels and the citizens of the capitol. Especially because they think she is pregnant.’

Coin thinks and suggests: ‘If we present him as a fellow rebel, is that what you have in mind Katniss?’

‘Yes, that’s good.’ She says and looks trough the room. She hadn’t expected that the conversation would go like this.

‘Is that it or do you have something more in mind?’ Amalia asks, knowing the biggest conditions wasn’t said yet.

‘When the war is over, I want Peeta to be pardoned.’ The room fall silent: ‘He will not be punished in any way and the same for the other who have been imprisoned by the Capitol: Johanna, Enobaria and Anna Cresta.’

‘No.’ Coin says cold. You see many of the others agree with their president, but there are a few who are thinking about it.

‘Yes, we don’t know what the Capitol is doing to them now and it’s not their fault they weren’t picked up.’ Katniss says resolute with a newly found courage.

‘They will get a fair trial with everyone else.’ Coin stares at Katniss.

Katniss stands up: ‘They will get immunity!’

‘President coin, you see this. Because this is exactly what we need.’ Amalia goes to stand next to Katniss: ‘This is the person who inspires everyone and will bring in whoever doesn’t believe our cause yet. ‘

Plutarch looks at them and smiles: ‘Maybe you could give them grace. It’s for the good of the cause.’

‘She is also right about the fact that whatever the Capitol is doing it can be bad. I know some of the things they can do.’ Amalia adds.

‘Alright then, but you need to work very hard for this.’ Coin tells Katniss.

‘I want an official announcement of this.’ Katniss says.

‘Ok that will happen today. Someone arranges it. Is there anything else on your list?’ Coin says, her face so no emotions, but Coin is enraged.

Katniss crumbles her paper: ‘One more thing, I am the one who kills president Snow.’

A smile appears on Coins face: ‘That’s only fitting.’ 


	5. chapter 4

‘There will be an announcement today, that you will take on your role of the mockingjay and that the people held captive at the capitol will have immunity. Is there anything else on your list?’ Coin says, her face so no emotions, but Coin is enraged.

Katniss crumbles her paper: ‘One more thing, I am the one who kills president Snow.’

A smile appears on Coins face: ‘That’s only fitting.’ Coin looks at her arm and then towards the clock on the wall. Her schedule is filled good: ‘Amalia remember to come to my office after you’re finished here.’

‘Yes, I will not forget.’ She responds and walks away to one of the cabinets while most people leave and the few that stay are talking: Plutarch, Fulvia, Gale and Katniss.

Amalia remembers when Cinna gave her the book she is reaching for. She takes it and walks back. Amalia lays it open in front of Katniss.

‘Cinna.’ Katniss whispers, her hands grace over the page. Her eyes look at every part of the drawing of the outfit he created for the mockingjay.

‘I had to promise to only show this to you when you wanted to be the mockingjay yourself. He believed in you Katniss, like we do. You can look through the book. He made it for you.’

Katniss turns the pages; she sees the different details of the suit. Cinna made sure she is safe in it, that it’s practical and also that she will look good in.

‘You’ll be the best dressed rebel out there.’ Gale laughs.

‘When did he did this?’ Katniss doesn’t look up and her fingers go over the letters on the last page: _‘I’m still betting on you.’_

‘A few weeks before the games.’ Amalia says.

Plutarch takes the attention: ‘We were thinking to film many different propos. That’s short for propaganda spots. The propos show you standing behind the cause and then we’ll show it to as many people as possible by using the tv channels.’

Katniss nods and Gale asks: ‘How will you that when the Capitol controls what you can see on them?’

‘We have Beetee, he helped making this network around ten years ago. He thinks he’ll be able to squeeze the propos in.’

‘But of course, we need something to show them.’ Amalia says.

‘We have your uniform ready, but we need do something about the scars and so you have now.’ Plutarch adds.

Katniss glances around uncomfortable. Amalia smiles: ‘Don’t worry, there is another surprise waiting for you. A few actually…’

…………………………

There is more security down here than Amalia or the others had suspected. Plutarch leads them when a security guard stops them: ‘Good morning.’

The guard doesn’t move when Plutarch wants to keep walking, he says: ‘I think you have wrong floor.’

Plutarch looks at his paper and says: ‘I don’t think so. This definitely says room 3908.’

‘You have to leave now.’ The guard tells them.

Amalia goes stands next to Plutarch: ‘I don’t believe you can stop us or want to stop us. The room is right there and if you stop us, I’ll make sure to let president coin know you wanted to stop us from helping the mockingjay. I have a meeting with her later today.’

Amalia sounded self-assured and the guard made way, his eyes showing how scared he is.

Plutarch walks past him and opens the door. Katniss follows straight after him and is the first one to walk in the room.

Amalia hears Katniss and she goes in the room. Even when she heard Katniss and Plutarch, she isn’t ready for what she sees. The three adults that are supposed to be Katniss her prep-team are as close to the wall as possible. They can only be recognized by some of their most permanent features, Venia’s golden facial tatous, Flavius orange hair and Octavia’s soft green skin. Katniss crouches by Venia and asks: ‘What happened?’

‘They brought us here. They took us from the Capitol.’

‘We thought it would be nice for you, Katniss, to have your usual prep-team with you.’

Amalia looks at him: ‘Yes, that was my idea, but not like this. Why did someone lock them up down here.’

‘Why are the treated like prisoners?’ Katniss asks and she stands up.

‘Gale can you please get the guard?’ Amalia asks.

Gale who had been standing there in disbelief nods. He didn’t know what to do, but now he knows. He comes back with the guard two minutes later.

‘Why are they here? What are they being punished for?’ Amalia asks.

‘They stole food.’ The guard says with a steady voice.

Venia stands up she almost falls down again, but Katniss goes to support her: ‘It was only one sandwich, we were hungry, and nobody explained us.’

Amalia raises her eyebrows and the guard tries to defend himself: ‘It wasn’t there first warning.’

‘All of this? For a sandwich?’ Gale says.

‘Release them!’ Katniss demands.

‘I would do what she says.’ Amalia warns. The guard moves closer to them with the key, moving with uncertain.

‘If someone comes to say something. You can tell them, I ordered you to free them.’ Plutarch says.

…………………

The three of them are such a bad condition and that’s why they bring them to Katniss’s mother. She immediately starts to take care of them.


	6. chapter 5

Katniss sits down on a bench outside the hospital and Gale comes to sit next to her. They are all waiting to know how the prep-team is doing. Almost all of them, Amalia needed to go see Coin. ‘They will get `better; your mother will make sure of that.’ He tells her.

Plutarch and Fulvia sit on the bench on the opposite of them. They don’t say anything. If they know something, they decided not to talk about it.

Katniss looks up at them: ‘We better look out from now on.’

‘Hé, what do you mean with that?’ Fulvia asks.

‘She is giving a warning by abusing my prep-team.’ Katniss tells her: ‘And not only to me, but I think you will have to be careful as well. She says that she decides what happen and if you don’t do what she says, you’re almost against her. Maybe she if even stricter if you come from the Capitol.’

‘Plutarch is the brain behind this, that’s a lot different than the three in there.’ Fulvia defends them.

‘She doesn’t look so happy with Amalia at the moment.’ Katniss says.

Plutarch sigh: ‘That’s Amalia. She tries to bend the rules as far as she can, in the way she believes it should go. There are some differences, but nothing happened to her and nothing will. We are more important to this war than you think, especially Amalia.’

____________________________

‘Amalia, you need to stop this act.’ Coin says calm. She doesn’t know what to say to Amalia anymore. Amalia knows how far she can go an much to her annoyance it’s further each time. And now Katniss is there mockingjay: ‘You gave advice to Katniss?’

‘Where does this come from?’

‘Maybe you can figure that out yourself. I think you know what this is about?’

Amalia sits down and crosses her legs: ‘I don’t know, but I do have a question. If I can?’

Coin is pleased that she asks: ‘Go ahead.’ Amalia may learn her place at the end of the road.

‘Why was the prep-team locked away? I know they stole bread, but this way they cannot give us, give them the Mockingjay they all know.’

‘There are rules, and they are there for everyone. If they broke them… But they can be released. I will give the order.’

‘They may be out already. Let’s call it a medical emergency.’ Amalia smiles apologetic.

‘You better make sure Katniss Everdeen is the Mockingjay I imagine. And that she can inspire not only the rebels, but also the ones who still believe in the power of the Capitol.’

‘I can assure you that she will.’ Amalia wants to cross her fingers, she needs this. Katniss is a lot of things, but she doesn’t like to do the things how she is told. Things could get pretty interesting.

___________________________

They caught twelve animals so far. There wasn’t as much resistance as back in twelve, like the animals weren’t used to be hunted. Gale had started to clean some of their catch and Katniss was enjoying the fresh air.

‘Why do you protect them so much, your prep-team? They only prepared you for slaughter.’

Katniss looks at him, a little surprised by his question: ‘I don’t think they knew any better. They never knew anything else…’

‘Why are you defending them?’

‘Because they made things a little bit better, a little bit more endurable. Without them or Cinna or Amalia, thing would have felt a lot worse. They still did, but…’

Gales sits down next to her, he stopped cleaning: ‘What?’

‘Amalia told me how she got involved. It’s all good over there either.’ Gale wants to say something, but she keeps talking: ‘Let me tell this story first and then you can tell me why I am wrong. Ok?’

Gales just nods.

‘Amalia’s father did the same thing she did. He talked with them, the people, the kids that either went in the games or lived through the games. Her mother was already dead at the time. They told her she died while giving birth, but Amalia never really believed it.

That’s not really what this is about. But her father needed to bring her with her, that’s how she got to know all of them. And that’s how her own rebellion started. The only thing that changed over the years is that she learned how to recognize the need for power in someone more easily and that she became more determined with every year.

She suspects the Capitol for killing her mother, but also a few years ago for her father’s dead.’

Gale listened and his argumentation felt wrong now. He didn’t know things like that happened in the capitol. He thought that everyone loved Snow and didn’t think anything about it.

‘She lost her family. She doesn’t want anyone to lose theirs and that’s what she is fighting for. I try to remember that, before I judge about something I don’t know.’ 

____________________________

‘Don’t forget what happened to me. I’ll make this work.’ Amalia tells Coin.

‘I know you will.’ Coin smiles slightly: ‘I think it’s almost time for the announcement.’


	7. chapter 6

President Coin is almost ready to do the announcement. She isn’t holding a paper, it would be a waste of recourses, because she knows every word.

Amalia sees Katniss talking to Finnick and she goes towards them. Amalia is rather with them than here.

‘Is it true that Annie will get immunity… when she gets back? Amalia please.’ Finnick asks when she approaches them.

‘Yes, Katniss asked and it’s going to be announced now.’

‘Thank you, Katniss, that’s such good news. I worry about her.’ He looks at Amalia now. Katniss and Gale stand aside. ‘Amalia, you understand that she wouldn’t know that she is saying the wrong thing or that she could be giving away…’

‘I know and she’ll be safe.’ Amalia lays a hand on his arm: ‘I’ll keep bringing it up and when our plan is ready, we’ll go get them. We safe her from that place.’

He nods and fakes a smile.

‘Attentions everyone, I have a short message: The people that are hold captured by the capitol that are either previous victors or related to them, they will be given immunity. Soldier Everdeen will take her obligations very serious and it only speaks for itself that is she isn’t successful in her mission that the immunity will not be applied. And they will be judged by the rules of district 13 and so will she.’

_______________________________

Gale sat in by the window in an empty room. Katniss is with her prep team and then later in the day they would start filming the propos.

‘Hey.’

He turned around: ‘Amalia… What are you doing here?’

‘I wanted to think… and this is my thinking place.’

‘I’ll go.’ He wants to stand up.

‘No stay, I wanted to ask you something anyway.’ She sits down next to him.

‘Go ahead.’

‘How are you?’

Gale looks at her confused: ‘That’s what you wanted to ask?’

She nods: ‘You look like you have something on your mind, and I wanted to say you can talk to me… Talking is what I’m good at, mostly listening but still.’

‘I’m alright. It’s a strange couple of weeks, months. I don’t know, everything changed when Katniss took her sister’s place in the hungergames. And then she won. Which is a good thing but…’ He looks at her.

‘It is different. Katniss changed things up, in a good way, but still she mixed everything around. What do you miss the most?’ He sighs not really wanting to answer: ‘I’ll start, clouds.’

‘You miss clouds?’ He sounds surprised.

‘Yes, I like watching the sky and looking at the clouds to see where they are going. I wish I could travel with them. If you want me to go it’s ok, I’m not offended.’

There is pause: ‘Katniss told me why you joined the rebellion. Is it true?’

‘Yes.’ She takes a hold of her hand: ‘Why are you asking this?’

‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have.’

‘It’s ok.’ She smiles: ‘I understand it’s confusing with what the capitol shows the districts. It may be difficult to believe that not everyone agrees with Snow. And I’m not alone, but it’s difficult to do something there without being noticed.’ She stands up and looks at him: ‘After lunch, you and Katniss have to come to defense-center and ask for Beetee.’

Gale follow her out of the room: ‘You’re not going to the canteen?’

‘No, I got to make sure everything is ready.’

__________________________

Amalia walks in the defense-center, she comes here a few times a week.

‘Hello, I heard Katniss agreed. Are you here to see if everything is ready?’ Beetee ask her.

She nods: ‘Is it? I told Katniss and Gale to come by after lunch.’ She and Beetee had worked together on some weapons, for the soldiers, but mostly for the ones who are going to be in the propos.

‘Everything is here.’ Beetee says and rolls his wheelchair over to a table: ‘Amalia, this are the improved versions of those bows you tested.’

She holds one: ‘What did you do with them?’

Beetee takes the bow and hangs it back on the wall: ‘I’ll talk about it when they’re here. But I have something else to show you.’ He takes a set of daggers and shows them: ‘Try one, I rebalanced them, they should be better than last time.’

They are completely black; she takes one and it’s light but heavy enough so she can throw it and direct the pad that it will follow. She throws it and it directly on the in the middle of the cardboard that hangs at the end of the wall.

‘That looks like it works like it’s supposed to.’ Beetee says.

‘It’s amazing.’ She tells him and goes and get the blade to put it back.

‘There is one more thing I have worked on for you. It’s kind of a secret project, but you may need it…

_________________________

Katniss enters the elevator and Gale pushes the button and the door closes before they go further down. ‘Did Amalia tell you why we have to meet her there?’

‘No, she didn’t. And she said to ask for Beetee.’


	8. chapter 7

‘Amalia there is something that will interest you.’ Beetee says and she follows him through a maze, she had never been this far. They go in a room more beautiful than anything else here.

‘There are hummingbirds.’ She laughs. She forgets the secret weapon and the war for a second, only enjoying this little bit of nature.

‘Ah there here.’ Beetee says and Amalia turns around and sees Katniss and Gale walk in.

‘Stunning isn’t it. Here they are used to study aerodynamics; this little bird can fly back and forth and sometimes they reach a speed of 100km an hour. I wish I could make wings like this for Amalia.’

Amalia grins: ‘I don’t think I would be able to pull it off.’

Katniss laughs as well and says to Gale: ‘Amalia Humingbird, it’s her full name.’

‘Katniss, you may be able to shoot them. Have you ever tried?’ Beetee asks.

‘Not really tried it, I never saw the point. There is so little meat on them.’

‘Maybe a trap could work.’ Gale says and he looks up at a point, thinking about how it would work: ‘You have to have very smell openings in the net and hang it in up with an entrance of one square meter. Nectar flowers are used as bait, when the bird drinks, the trap closes and can’t get out.’

‘Would that work.’ Beetee asks and Amalia tries to imagine it in her head: ‘Amalia, what do you think?’

They all look at her now: ‘I don’t know. I’m not that good with setting up traps, the whole waiting thing, but it sounds good. You’re playing with a natural instinct to escape, but it would be interesting to see how the hummingbird would react.’

Katniss looks away from the bird: ‘Amalia said you have something for me, Beetee?’

‘Oh yes, follow me.’ He says and he rolls away in his wheelchair. They follow him: ‘I have your bow. Should be ready, I had Amalia test it, but of course you should do the same.’ When they arrive at the right station, Amalia gives Katniss her bow.

‘Gale you should go try out one of those, Amalia can help?’

‘Yes, sure.’ She says and Beetee tries to focus on Katniss again.

Gale follows Amalia who looks at him: ‘I like this one the best’ she points to one in the upper corner: ‘But I think you could make this one work better for you.’ She takes a bow that’s a little bigger, but not the biggest one there is. He takes it over: ‘It’s light, but also heavy enough. For me it works better if I have weight to counterbalance the strength, I use it to tighten the bow. Try it out yourself.’

He sees a target, and he goes to stand in front of it and aim it, it feels like the bow helps him aim, it feels right. This is different that the bows he and Katniss had made once, even better that the ones that Katniss’s father made. He shoots and hits the target almost in the middle.

‘Nice.’ Amalia says: ‘Of course this will not be your only weapon. There some very handy fire weapons. Try some more with this.’

He takes another arrow and without looking et her he asks: ‘Where did you learn all this? Here or …?’

‘I practically grew up around victors and some of them taught me a few things. When I got older, I asked training from a few, they know their way around a weapon, it could come in handy and it does now.’ She explains.

……………………….

‘Katniss, you should go upstairs again. They’ are almost ready to shoot one of your propos. You must get into the right outfit. I’ll be there and your hand should show you were it is.’

‘Ok.’ Katniss wants to lay her bow away.

‘Take it with you.’ Beetee says and Katniss nods and walks away.

‘I told Gale to stay for a bit. He might have some good suggestions for tactic and which weapons could come in handy.’

______________________________

Katniss is ready to perform. There are a lot of people watching her from another room, but Amalia is glad Coin isn’t one of them. Katniss looks impressive, she almost looks in real battle, but a glamorous battle where they all look better than how it really is.

They give Katniss the sign:

_‘People of Panem, we fight, we dare, to end this hunger for justice!’_

‘And that, my friends, is how a revolution dies. Hello, Katniss.’ He waves at her through the glass, and she glares back: ‘Is this how you greet old friends’ Haymitch asks and looks at Amalia: ‘Is this how she does that?’

She laughs: ‘Only her best old friends get such a special greeting. It’s good to have you back, you can help me fix this.’ She tells him.

‘Oh, I see, you’re in trouble with Coin?’

‘She said I’m too supportive of Katniss or something. I don’t really understand it.’

‘You should really learn how to play by the rules.’

‘Says you?’ She sates.

He grins at her: ‘I’m glad to be back as well.


	9. chapter 8

Amalia looks at everyone at the table, Coin and few of ‘her people’, Katniss, Gale and other people from twelve and last Finnick and Beetee. Amalia glance at Haymitch who nods.

‘I think you know what we’re here for.’ Amalia says and sees a few people nod. The rest stays quiet: ‘Let’s watch.’

She stands at the side of the room next to Haymitch: ‘Now what?’

‘Let me handle this.’ He grins and walks to the front now: ‘I think we can all say that this is garbage. Madame... President, indulge me for a moment. Let's everybody think of one incident where Katniss Everdeen genuinely moved you. And I'm not talking about when you were jealous of her hairstyle, or her dress went up in flames, or when she made a halfway decent shot with an arrow.’ He says and Amalia sees Katniss glare at him: ‘and not when Peeta made you like her. So- one moment when she made you feel something.’

There is silence, Amalia knows something will follow. There are those moments. And it’s a girl from twelve who speaks up first: ‘When she volunteered for her sister at the Reaping, …, because I was sure she knew she was going to die.’

‘Excellent example.’ Haymitch says and clears a space on the screen, wiping out several items ...: ‘I hope that wasn't important.’ He glances over his shoulder at Coin. Amalia sees Coins eyebrows twitch, but Haymitch continues: ‘Volunteer...for sis. Go on- another example...’

‘When she song while that little girl died.’ Boggs says.

‘Oh, yeah. Who didn't get choked up at that?’ Haymitch writes it down.

‘I cried when she seduced Peeta so she could get him the medicine… And the she kissed him.’ Octavia says, but stops in her sentence.

Haymitch nods and writes it down. There are more examples: When she chose Rue as an ally, when she reached her hand out to Chaff on the interviews, when she tried to carry Mags… The berries keep coming up, for many that’s a symbol for something, Love or rebellion or something else. Haymitch writes them down.

‘Now, what have all these moments in common?’ Amalia asks.

‘Nobody told her what to do.’ Gale says releasing the answer: ‘It were her moments.’

‘Unscripted, yes.’ Beetee says and looks at Katniss: ‘So- maybe we should just leave her alone.’

‘her opportunities for spontaneity here underground are sorely lacking, so, if you're suggesting we toss her into combat: ‘Boggs says.

Coin protests: ‘I can't sanction putting an untrained civilian into combat just for effect. This is not the Capitol’

‘No, that's exactly what our suggesting is. Put her in the field!’ Haymitch says now standing next to Amalia.

‘We won't be able to protect her…’ Coin says.

‘Listen, you're looking for the face of the Revolution? She cannot be coached, I tried telling this before. It has to come from her.’ Amalia replies.

‘So, perhaps somewhere lower-risk?’ Plutarch suggests.

Beetee looks like he has an idea, Amalia looks at him and he says: ‘District 8. They reported heavy bombing this morning, but there's no military targets left.’

‘We won't be able to guarantee her safety: ‘Boggs tries this time.

‘You'll never be able to guarantee my safety.’ Katniss says: ‘I want to go.’

‘...And, if you're killed?’ Coin asks her calm.

‘...Make sure you get it on camera.’

_______________________________

Amalia puts on the outfit that she and Beetee designed. Light material, so she can easily move around. It’s black and has spaces for her blades and dark grey belt with small bags. One day she would go to the Capitol with this. This will lead to the end of the war, but not today. Now she isn’t expecting much explosions or shootings. They’ll only see the effect of all this violence. She would prepare Katniss, for as much as she can.

_______________________________

Katniss arrives on the ship with Gale and Plutarch: ‘Quick introductions! Katniss, these people have come a long way to support our cause.’ Plutarch says and points towards one of them: ‘This is Cressida. In my opinion, one of the finest up-and-coming film directors in the Capitol- ‘

‘Until I up and left’ She says. Katniss nods and when Plutarch leaves Cressida introduces the others to both Katniss and Gale: ‘This is my assistant, Messalla- ‘

‘An honor to meet you.’

‘-And your cameramen over there, Castor- ‘

‘Hello.’

‘-And Pollux.’

Boggs arrives with Amalia; she is laughing and looks at them: ‘Everyone ready?’

‘Let's get locked in then.’ Boggs says.

‘...You're all from the Capitol? Plutarch got you out?’ Katniss asks them, she only knows Amalia’s story.

‘Not really.’ Messalla says.

‘t wasn't any sort of rescue, if that's what you mean. We all fled on our own.’ Castor adds.

‘Don't expect much chitchat from him. He's an Avox. The Capitol cut his tongue out years ago.’ Cressida tells Katniss about Pollux: ‘You could say Amalia recruited me. I think that counts for most of us.’ The others nod.

‘It looks like you have an eye for those things.’ Boggs says.

‘They would have gotten here by themselves anyway. It’s only easier with allies.’ Amalia replies.


	10. chapter 9

_-sometime during the preparation of the 5O’s hungergames-_

_…………….._

_‘It’s time to go Amalia.’_

_‘Ok, daddy.’ The girl stands up and puts on her colorful raincoat. It’s blue, pink, yellow and purple, the colors she liked this this year. Her blond hair is up in two pigtails with a pin in her hair designed to look like a frog._

_Her father helps her put on black shoes with green and white laces: ‘You want to try and tie them yourself?’_

_The girl nods and while she takes the two ends, makes a knot and then she makes a loop with one of the ends, her tong sticks out of her mouth when she makes the other loop. She twirls them around each other and pulls them tight: ‘Can you do the other one.’_

_‘Of course.’ Amalia loves her father, she looks at him, he is way faster than she is. He says that’s because he is old and had to tie his shoes already more than a thousand times. _

_………………._

_Amalia is in a room with a dollhouse, blocks, and books. She already played with dolls, and she doesn’t like to play with the blocks alone and none of friends are here. The books are too difficult, and she can only watch the tv when the clock has these green lights around it…and that’s not how it is now._

_She takes a coloring book and finds a picture of fishes she wants to color. Blue for the sea and then she can use purple for the plants._

_……………_

_The lights are green now and Amalia is watching a movie with superheroes. The heroes always win, and she likes that, she likes the purple one the most, he can shoot stars out of his hands and his friend protects them both with a bubblegum shield._

_A woman comes in when the movie stops: ‘Who is your favorite?’_

_‘The purple one.’ _

_The woman looks at the girl in her purple shirt, yellow pants and then again the purple on her shoes: ‘Than you’re lucky. I found this one. If you want it, it’s yours.’ The woman holds out a doll, it’s the purple superhero._

_………………….._

_She pushes the door opens and looks around; she knows how to get to her father. He said she had to stay in the room, but she wants to show him her new doll. She looks back to the empty room and even here is no-one: ‘You think we can do this?’ She asks her new toy._

_‘You can do everything if you believe in it.’ She uses another voice to act like she is the purple hero. _

_‘Dad said the rule is to stay in the room.’_

_‘But don’t you want to show me to him.’ She says as the doll again, because she really wants to and isn’t even far. Her dad is at the end of the hallway, she doesn’t even need to use stairs._

_…………………_

_Amalia starts counting the doors. Door one is here, that’s where she gets food sometimes, mostly sandwiches with greens and slice of meat. She never gets any candy here; at home her dad gives her this purple candy. Not always, but she likes it when he does give it._

_Door two is where the woman from the tv sits, so she holds one of her fingers in front her lips._

_Door three is the sleepy room and it’s also where the tv woman takes you when you have pain and you need a bandage. She has some with animals or princesses, there are even ones with glitter._

_Door four is always closed and she never walked further so she doesn’t know what’s behind door five._

_There are more doors, but she doesn’t know the numbers higher than five. That’s how many she is, she thinks next year she will know more._

_A lot of doors come and a few points she could go in other directions, but she always goes straight ahead. She didn’t know the building that the building was this big._

_…………………._

_She runs towards the door. She knows it’s this one, because it has a star on it. It’s there for her, so she can recognize it; she opens it: ‘Look it’s the purple one.’ She says excited and makes her doll fly around and when she turns, she sees someone else: ‘Who are you?’ She asks. He doesn’t answer._

_‘Amalia, you cannot come here alone. I said to wait in the room.’ Her father scolds her._

_She looks down: ‘I know. I’m sorry, but I’m all alone.’_

_The boy at the other side of the table looks at her: ‘Who is your new doll?’_

_‘It’s my favorite superhero, cause purple is the best color and then yellow and pink and blue.’ She tells him: ‘What color do you like?’_

_‘I don’t know.’ He answers._

_‘How can you not have a favorite color?’ She asks looking up at him._

_‘Purple is a nice one. What’s your name?’_

_‘I’m Amalia. It starts with an A, but I cannot spell it yet. Who are you?’ She asks again._

_‘Haymitch.’_

_She hugs her toy and looks at him: ‘You want to be my friend Hay.’_

_______________________________________

-now back on the plane-

………………..

Amalia talks with Katniss about the new propos: ‘There are few tips I can give you for when you visit the wounded. You already inspire them; you can do this.’

Katniss nods, she isn’t so sure.

‘One, be yourself or at least the best parts of it. You need to stay calm and be you, that’s who they chose to stand behind and fight for.

Two, you don’t need to give a speech. It’ more important to be there than to talk.

And you cannot shiver back, but I think that you already knew that. You’ll be amazing, don’t worry about it. And then at last this.’ Amalia take a small capsule out of one of the pockets of her belt: ‘We called it: ‘nightlock’ as a tribute for you.’ Amalia explains: ‘There is e special place designed in each uniform.’ Amalia points at a place by her collar: ‘We cannot allow any rebels to be caught by the Capitol anymore. I promise it’s completely painless.’


	11. chapter 10

Katniss turns around in her chair, at least as far she is capable with the restraints. The pilot told them to put them on, they are in dangerous territory. It’s a war, you can say everywhere is an unsafe place: ‘You will film everything and how … do I look or speak louder or something?’

Cressida laughs: ‘Pretend we’re not there, be spontaneous.’

‘That’s why we make this expedition.’ Boggs adds.

‘Don’t look so worried, it will work out.’ Cressida calms Katniss.

‘Gale looks ready for our visit.’ Castor says.

Amalia grins: ‘I bet you rather take a shot of him Cressida. Doesn’t he look handsome in his uniform?’

‘I can choose who’ll be in the background.’ Cressida answers.

Katniss notices that Gale looks at her, not at the two woman who are talking about him, but he hears it. His face shows it, a little blush on his cheeks, not very noticeable, but Katniss can tell. She knows Amalia spots it when a smile spreads on her face: ‘How does it come that you look like you did in the Capitol?’

Amalia answers Katniss: ‘I think I look different enough.’

‘Strangely you fitted in there, with a bit glitter and enough crazy collard patterns on your clothes, but you also fit in here and it still looks as you.’

‘There is a secret.’ Cressida says mysterious.

‘yes…’ Katniss says.

‘She is simply gorgeous with or without make up. She is real-life art.’

‘That’s too much credit Cressida. I know how to highlight myself, that’s it, with simple tools.’ Amalia glances at Gale, now he is looking in her direction.

________________________________

The hovercraft lands, stairs come out of it and everyone steps out. Boggs leads them towards an alley between two large grey buildings. Katniss and Gale walk behind him, Cressida and her film crew follow. Amalia is in the back and her eyes follow the victims of the bombings. Men, Women, children, they are all wounded some of them fatal. Amalia looks at Katniss, she holds Gale’s hands, almost leaning on him for support.

There is no door in the entrance, it’s an opening, cracks on the wall and in the wooden studs. Amalia keeps walking, she sees Katniss is alone now. She isn’t she is standing among everyone. They look at her and they see hope, there are smiles and I think some of them forget their pain, only for a moment, but they can forget the despair that all around them.

Amalia walks past them and Gale follows her with his eyes.

Katniss walks through the rows. She walks past almost everyone, letting everyone know she is present and there for them.

……………….

Amalia stops the bleedings, mends the wounds, tries to stop infections. She doesn’t have much, but she doesn’t need fancy tools to give basic treatments. She learned from her father. She remembers his words like he said them yesterday: _‘This will come in handy, learning how to fight may be useful, but knowing how to heal will help you survive.’_

‘You know medicine?’ Someone asks her.

Amalia recognizes her as commander Paylor: ‘Enough to help.’

‘Than help.’ The commander gives her small supply kit, it gives Amalia more to work with.

………………

Outside Katniss looks relieved. She didn’t do all that bad, followed Amalia’s advice and it worked, almost on its own.

‘You did good in there.’ Boggs tells her.

‘Couldn’t have done it without Amalia.’ She answers and looks around: ‘Where is she?’

‘She is helping to treat everyone; she has a few skills.’

‘That’s ….’

Boggs holds his hand up and lays one hand on his ear, there is a message on his earpiece. Katniss doesn’t have one this time, they don’t want to distract her, and they didn’t know how it would look on camera. Boggs looks at her: ‘There are hovercrafts coming.


	12. chapter 11

Boggs holds his hand up and lays one hand on his ear, there is a message on his earpiece. Katniss doesn’t have one this time, they don’t want to distract her, and they didn’t know how it would look on camera. Boggs looks at her: ‘There are hovercrafts coming.

Katniss looks at the bright blue sky, there isn’t anything there. Gale comes outside with Cressida and the others. All expect Amalia. They are almost the only ones outside, there are still people carrying the wounded in the building. There is nothing, no enemy’s, no danger.

An alarm starts howling. The threat is coming. Katniss looks up again and sees hovercrafts, in a v-formation. It doesn’t take long before they drop something. Katniss falls flat on the ground; she feels a sharp pain above her right knee. They’re dropping bombs she realizes. She gets up and sees them fall one after another they shake the ground.

‘We have to get you out of sight Katniss.’ Boggs says: ‘There is safe haven a few blocks away.’

Katniss stands still and Gale pulls on her arm: ‘Don’t they know I’m here.’

‘They don’t think so.’ Bugs answers.

Katniss knows who they are. Plutarch, Haymitch and the others that are still in the hovercraft.

‘Katniss, we have 45 seconds until the next wave.’ Boggs tells her.

Katniss finely reacts and follow them. She feels her right leg stiffen up when she tries to stand on it. She doesn’t show or reacts on in. She keeps following, they are almost there but the time is up. The ground shakes, and she falls. She feels a weight on her and then the ground shakes again, more violently this time. She looks up and she knew it was Gale who was protecting her. ‘Are you ok?’ He asks.

‘Yes, I don’t think they saw us. At least they’re not coming after us.’

‘They have another target.’ Gale says resolute.

‘Yes, I know, it’s only…’ Katniss realizes it.

The same time Gale knows it too: ‘The hospital.’

………………..

Amalia looks up. She hears something outside and then there is an explosion, the ground keeps shaking an she feels something on her head. Her view gets hazy. She sees panic and hears screams.

She winks and there she sees commander Paylor, who is wounded, but it would have to wait. There is only one way out anymore, she looks at the door, the ones that can stand up, run through the door as fast as they can. Some hold on to supplies, others try to guide along the little ones. She looks at commander: ‘I’ll take care of as many of the ones left. Find them another building.’ The woman nods, Amalia look at the building. There is blood everyone, many of the wounded died at the fist impact. She knows she has little time before the next wave. She frees a few people stuck, another wave, more people die of blood loss or other injuries.

………………..

Katniss and Gale stand next to commander Paylor: ‘Does Boggs know where you are?’

‘Yes, he knows that.’ Katniss answers.

Paylor smiles: ‘I believe that. Do you know how to work those she holds up a gun?’

‘Yes.’ Gale answers: ‘But we rather use our own weapons.’

‘We have our bows with us.’ Katniss says trying to get a good look at where too shoot.

They shoot using special arrow. ‘Goose.’ Katniss says and Gale nods knowing immediately what she means. When they see the fire-arrows do almost nothing they change to the exploding ones.

…..

Katniss stands up and shoots the last one.

‘That was it.’ Commander Paylor says.

‘Did they hit the hospital?’ Gale asks.

‘They will have.’

Katniss looks around: ‘Amalia?’

Paylor looks at the hospital: ‘I’m afraid your friend wanted to help as many as she could. I don’t know if she got out.’


	13. chapter 12

Katniss looks at the hospital, it’s a collapsed. She sees people are trying to get in, but she knows what they’ll find. Whoever is inside is dead. Gales stands next to her. She thinks of Amalia, Commander Paylor said she wanted to get everyone out, as many as possible. The ones that could stand, at least: ‘Why would they do something like that?’

Gale doesn’t answer and Boggs tells them that it’s time to leave. He repeats the message again.

Katniss thinks of when she and Gale would spend time in the woods around district twelve. He protested of the Capitol and criticized them. She would always think that he wouldn’t find a reason for the way they acted. Why would he try to figure out how they reason? He knew that this was an option for the Capitol, because he never underestimated how cruel they can be.

‘Katniss, can you tell everyone what's happening?’ Cressida says: ‘Katniss, what do you want to say?"

Katniss turns around, slowly. She is furious, she glances one last time at what used to be the hospital behind her and then faces the camera and nods: ‘I want the rebels to know that I'm alive... that I'm in District 8, where the Capitol just bombed a hospital filled with unarmed men, women, and children! And there will be no survivors.

If you think for one second that the Capitol will ever treat us fairly, you are lying to yourself! Because we know who they are, and what they do!’ She points behind her at the burning building.

Cressida looks at her, she nods encouraging.

Katniss continues: ‘This is what they do, and we must fight back! I have a message for President Snow... You can torture us, and bomb us, and burn our districts to the ground- but do you see that?"’ A destroyed, shot-down bomber hovercraft is behind her: "Fire is catching, and if we burn, you burn with us!"

…………………………

A small hovercraft lands in an open area. Everyone walks towards it, the crew, Gale, Boggs and Katniss.

There is a short pause and Haymitch looks over the area: ‘Close the doors.’ Door starts rising, slowly.

A little bit farther someone walks from behind a collapsed building. She is bleeding from her left arm and she is covered in dust. Commander Paylor is the one that notices her.

She raises one of her eyebrows not really showing her surprise, turns her head: ‘Wait!’

The door stops halfway, and Boggs looks trough the remaining opening: ‘It’s her, it’s Amalia. She survived.’

‘Then lower the door again.’ Haymitch commands. The door lowers again, and he waits for Amalia at the bottom: ‘You always find a way to surprise.’

Amalia smiles: ‘I couldn’t let anyone down.’

____________________________

Amalia sits in her seat, she is strapped on, leaning more to the back of her seat than she would otherwise do. She looks at Katniss, the girl is asleep. She is also wounded.

Cressida showed her the recordings, they were good. She is proud. They did a good thing, but between their and her efforts there were still too many life’s lost.

Amalia tries to think what they can do with the footages and if they edit it wright, they can get more propos from it than one. They’ll go further, they’ll fight more and strong on different fronts and they’ll win… For everyone that was lost or that they’ll lose on the way there.

_________________________

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

\--Martin Luther King, Jr.—


	14. chapter 13

‘You’re up?’ Haymitch says: ‘Shouldn’t you be resting?’

‘I would if I could.’ Amalia replies. The medical team said the same thing. They bandaged her left forearm, the wound was cleaned and covered. Her knee has minor bruising, but they gave her ice. Her wrist was and is worse. A small bone of her wrist is broken, so she has a cast now. They said it would heal, but she to let her arm rest. She lays with her leg up: ‘How is Katniss?’ They had told her that the girl was injured as well.

‘She’ll get better. Didn’t they give you any painkiller?’

‘They offered…’

‘And you refused.’ He finishes her sentence.

‘It’s frustrating being here. There is nothing for me to do. Can I help with making the propos or something?’

‘Nope.’

‘If I cannot do something useful, I’ll find something to do.’ She says and starts to get out of the bed.’

Haymitch gives in: ‘Ok, if you use a wheelchair.’ He laughs: ‘I come back in an hour, and you should listen and take some rest.’

________________________

Haymitch pushes her wheelchair towards the elevator and from the elevator towards the room where they would be working on the propos. He has to be careful. The doctor had told them she has to keep her left leg up, it’s in front of her, hold up by a part of the wheelchair. Amalia has been thinking of what kind of message they want to send out. And which they need to send out. She saw the footage and tries to remember what there is.

They need to let everyone know that Katniss is alive and ready.

The want to let the people realize that the Capitol is not there for them, they only fight for themselves, they don’t care about some people caught in the crossfire. And which part of the footage can they use? Will they have to film more and what?

Cressida and her team had already started on watching the footage they have. Fulvia and Plutarch stand against the back wall. When they arrive, everyone looks at them: ‘Ok, now that you know what’s in there. It’s time to brainstorm.’ Amalia tells them.

They are some good ideas and there are some less creative or less ideal suggestions. Amalia is happy with results they gather. She looks at everyone while they work on ideas. She watches them grow until there is a full concept.

One is about letting everyone know Katniss is still alive and she is on their side. _If we burn you burn with us._

Something with the hospital footage, showing Katniss interacting with injured people and the children. _Fire is catching._

And there is an idea from Fulvia to do a tribute for the ones that died in the games, Rue, Mags and others. She says it’s so that they don’t forget why they fight for. _In our remembrance._

___________________________________

Amalia has ice on the knee of her left leg. It lays on cushions so it’s higher up. Her left arm lays down next to her on the bed. She tries to come with a way to keep her endurance up, a way to do a workout without pushing herself too hard, at least not the parts that are wounded. Her leg is getting better, if she keeps laying ice on it, she can stand using the brace. She doesn’t know what the medical team would say, because she checked herself out early. A hospital bed, it didn’t help her recovery, it worsened her mindset.

This would stay for a few more days. She gets ice for her knee, a few times a day. Her breakfast isn’t that exciting, a slice of bread with a piece of fruit. Haymitch brought her some books, four to be exact.

The third day she can pursue someone to get her half a mock of coffee. It makes things a little better. By the end of the fifth day she is out of reading material.

When she wakes up on the sixth day, she decides it’s time to get up. Her knee doesn’t really hurt anymore. They protest, but she wins, and they give her brace. She pulls it over her feet and gets it over her knee.

She starts with walking, but by the end of the day someone finds her stretching and doing light exercises for her knee. They bring her back to her hospital back. Katniss is awake this time. She sleeps a lot.

‘You escaped?’ Katniss asks.

‘I tried to, this laying and resting is driving me insane.’ But Katniss doesn’t listen to what Amalia is saying. Katniss has taken the painkillers; they had been more insisted with her. A new day tomorrow.


	15. chapter 14

Amalia slides the brace on her knee and puts her pants on. When she has her jumper in place she gets out of her bead and puts on her shoes. It goes slowly, but because there are no buttons, or laces, she succeeds. Today they’ll start with the next stage of the propos. She knows that they worked on preparing two propos and they finished them, even put them on live tv. They have Beetee to thank for that. He was the one that made the capitols security system and he was also the one that the found a way around it. Today they would show them to Katniss and maybe start shooting new ones.

‘You’re going out?’ Katniss asks.

Amalia nods: ‘Yes, and so are you. You better get ready. I arrange a wheelchair.’

Katniss smiles, knowing she’ll be out of this bed today.

_________________

The breakfast she gets is as sad as the first one. A few small pieces of white bread and a cup of warm milk. She still feels the pain in her leg, where they pulled out a piece of the grenade. She keeps telling them that she feels fine, but if it takes a wheelchair to get out of here, she’ll take it.

Amalia comes back with a wheelchair and someone to push it forwards: ‘Time to go.’ She says and Katniss gets up and takes place: ‘Where are we going?’

‘It’s time that you saw yourself in the propos we’ve been airing.’

…………….

While they drive Katniss downstairs, Amalia walks slightly behind them. Katniss had expected some sort of punishment for what happened in district 8, maybe they waited until now to tell her that Peeta and the others weren’t save anymore. That the deal she made isn’t going through anymore. Or did Amalia talk with Coin.

When they arrive Messalla says: ‘There is our star.’

Katniss grimaces, she is happy to see them. She remembers how they followed her on the roof, also ignoring the rules. They are proud of what they do, and they give it everything they have, like Cinna did.

‘She was supposed to come in her bed.’ Coin tells them, her tone is sharp.

Haymitch turns around: ‘What did you expect from her, she isn’t supposed to be walking either.’

Amalia fixated Katniss wheelchair, with her good foot, next to Gale and she sits down on the other side of him: ‘We’re both fine. Let them see how good the propos are.’

Gale and Katniss talk for a bit. President Coin stares at her, but her gaze shifts toward the screen when Beetee says he is ready.

‘We already started showing these propos as much as Beetee could get them trough, the last few days. Let’s show them before we talk about something else.’

The screen goes black and then it starts.

………… _If we burn you burn with us…………_

_A recognizable voice fills the room, Claudius Templesmith: ‘Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fire, burns on.’_

_Katniss is standing in front of fire: ‘I want the rebels to know that I'm alive... that I'm in District 8, where the Capitol just bombed a hospital filled with unarmed men, women, and children! And there will be no survivors.’_

_Shots from the hospital burning and collapsing, the people watching and not being able to do something. _

_Katniss’s voice comes through again: ‘If you think for one second that the Capitol will ever treat us fairly, you are lying to yourself! Because we know who they are, and what they do!’ And she comes back on the screen, Katniss moves her hands to show the violence: ‘‘This is what they do, and we must fight back!’_

_The bombs fall down, Katniss is on the ground, wounded. Katniss and Gale climb up onto the roof. They shoot the hovercrafts. _

_Katniss turns towards the screen: ‘I have a message for President Snow... You can torture us, and bomb us, and burn our districts to the ground- but do you see that?’ A burning hovercraft, falling down, showing a sign of the capitol: ‘Fire is catching, and if we burn, you burn with us!’_

_The screen turns black, flames appear and a few words: ‘IF WE BURN, YOU BURN WITH US.’_

……………………………

‘We shown this one the most.’ President Coin says: ‘It’s important they know the mockingjay is alive and ready to fight with them.’

‘Have they show this everywhere?’ Gale asks.

‘Not in the capitol.’ Amalia answers: ‘Beetee is still working on that, but it did air in all the district. And two is maybe more important then than capitol itself.

‘Is Claudius Templesmith on our side?’ Katniss asks surprised.

Plutarch laughs: ‘No, only his voice. It’s something he said during the games. We didn’t have to change anything.’

‘Since yesterday, we’ve shown this one as well.’ Coin says.

The screen turns black again.

…………._ Fire is catching…………….._

_The hospital is shown. Katniss interacting with some of the children, a woman and an overview of people helping each other and doctors treating everyone that has a change of being saved._

_Katniss comes back into the view, focused on her face showing her stunned expression. It zooms out and Katniss look at them, while everyone is watching her, a look of hope. _

_The hospital is shown again, collapsing. The screen goes black and words appear: ‘Because we know who they are, and what they do!’ But Fire is catching!’_


	16. chapter 15

‘This is a good start. Let’s keep this up.’ Coin tells everyone before she leaves the meeting. Katniss had left and so has Gale. They gave him his wristband back, for communication reasons. He went to see Beetee, turns out that they work really good together. And he has ideas for weapons, in a unlike way, because he approaches it differently. Beetee thanked Amalia for setting up the first conversation.

Amalia looks at the screen, waking up, people have left, and she stayed. She needed a little sleep, and they knew she wasn’t getting enough, so she guesses they didn’t want to risk moving her. She doesn’t know how long she has been here. She missed dinner, but she doesn’t mind.

The screen changes. It’s the Capitol announcing a special program.

_…………On screen………………._

_Caesar Flickerman appears on the screen, his guest is Peeta Mellark. He looks weak, the make-up couldn’t hide that he had suffered, and is in distress._

_‘You’re still here with us.’ Caesar starts the interview._

_‘Yes, I am. You didn’t find anybody else?’_

_Not someone else as interesting.’ He takes a breath: ‘To get to point. The videos that started appearing. Do you think Katniss is working with the rebels, or is something else going on?’_

_‘No, she isn’t.’ Peeta says: ‘They’re using her to rile up the rebels. I don’t even know; does she understand what’s at play here? What the outcome could be?’_

_‘If you could tell Katniss something? Is there something that comes to mind?’_

_‘Yes.’ Peeta says and looks directly at the screen: ‘Don’t fool yourself Katniss. Don’t let anyone use you. They turned you into a weapon that could turn out to have a big involvement in the end of humanity. If you have any influence, use it to do something, to end this war. Question if you can trust the people you work with. Do you really know what they want? Or not, than you have to find it out.’_

_………. Black screen……………._

Amalia couldn’t believe what she saw. He looked so pale, what are they doing to him that his voice lost strength and that his eyes fell down.

______________________________________

………….. Flashback……………………

The room doesn’t have much color, it has a light grey carpet, soft for your feet. The walls in a cream white, most of the furniture white, with accents in pale pink, the cushions on the bed or the outer edges of the curtains.

In the double bed lays a girl with blond hair, her hair sparkles and she is awake.

Holding a purple notebook, sometimes she writes her thoughts in it. Her father encourages it, and she knows that he would never read it.

Her silver pen writes down: _It’s one of those days again. My father sits in his chair by the fire and he reads old journals. I tried to find them, to know what they say. I think they are important, and they can help me find a way to make these days less sad. If I knew it had nothing to do with me, I wouldn’t want to find them. Something gives me this feeling I deserve to know. But they’re not laying in any bookcase in the house, I suspect he locks them away because he doesn’t want to talk about it._

She stops writing and takes her journal with her to the kitchen where she takes a glass of water.

It’s silent in the apartment, her farther couldn’t sleep either and sits at his desk, through a small opening of the door, he sees his daughter writing at the table, taking small sips of her water.

_He is isn’t at the fire anymore, but it still glows. This means he moved to his ‘office’. It has a big desk and lot of files. It’s also where the safe is. I never go in that room; it holds the files from his job, and I know I have nothing to do with that. He doesn’t want me to close to those events, ha wishes he could keep the games form me, in every way, but that wouldn’t work. This has something to do with this, but more so, with my mother. I saw pictures, but I don’t remember her, I know she loved white chocolate covered in pink sugar and her favorite jacket was a long purple one. There is something more to it, something my father doesn’t want me to know._

She closes her purple journal and takes it with her to hide it between two books in the bookcase in her room, it stands on the second row, third book from the left.

______________________________

………. Present………………………...

Amalia holds a brown book against her chest. The color is faded, and the corners folded, she goes to the hospital. Katniss is talking with Finnick, they stop when they hear her and look at her when she enters.

‘Everything ok?’ Amalia ask them.

‘They already came, we haven’t seen anything, we turned off the tv before it started.’ Finnick answers.

Amalia surprises them when she replies: ‘Oh, if you want to know, I can try to describe what it was.’ She sits down on a chair: ‘It was from the Capital and they’ve show Peete and I think that isn’t something we should hide away from anyone. How painful it is, keeping it concealed doesn’t work.’

‘You don’t have to tell. We did see but didn’t think anyone would want us to.’ Katniss says: ‘It makes everything easier.’

Amalia nods: ‘I understand. Are you both ok?’


	17. chapter 16

Finnick and Amalia walk to lunch. He holds a piece of rope; he uses to make knots. Now he is just holding it: ‘Why do they keep Peeta’s last interview such a secret.’

‘You know why.’ She answers: ‘They don’t know how to do it any better way. She’ll be okay.’

He looks up at her: ‘We don’t know that. She could be looking worse than him.’

‘I talked with Beetee this morning. And they are working on their security system. When they are able to give us enough time then we go to the Capitol.’

‘If.’ He whispers.

‘No, when.’ She says: ‘They’re getting close.’

___________________________

Katniss has ‘training’, but Gale has to work with Beetee today. Finnick comes with her instead; When they are outside the fence, they walk around. Hide their sensors and find a spot to sit and talk about the interview.

‘Amalia asked how I was doing this morning, but everyone else keeps it quiet. Has anyone mentioned it to you?’

‘Not a word.’ She answers.

‘Not even Gale?’

She takes a pebble and throws it towards the water: ‘No.’

‘Maybe he hasn’t heard it?’

‘He has.’

There is slight pause: ‘It could be that he waits for the right moment to bring it up?’

Finnick tries, but they both know that’s not true.

They don’t talk, they sit and wait. Katniss shoots a goat.

……………………………….

Amalia sits on one of the white beds and waits after being examined. The cast from her wrist has been removed.

Her legs bungle over the edge, she taps with her left hand, her good hand, on the bed.

Someone from the medical team, the same man that she talked to earlier stops next to her: ‘It’s healing good. I’ll give you some exercises that will make your wrist stronger and more flexible. Now I’m going to tape it in. Watch it and then you can replace it yourself.’

She holds out her right arm: ‘So, no more cast?’

‘No more cast.’ He repeats laughing.

…………………………

That evening Gale walks with Katniss back to her compartment that she shares with her mother and sister. He doesn’t bring the interview up and neither does she. She wants to give him a change to tell her himself.

It didn’t happen, she lays in her bed, awake. She remembers Peeta’s first interview, he tried to protect her from the Capitol. He looked much worse this time. She didn’t protect him the same way. Never even considered the impact of becoming the mockingjay.

The next morning, she wakes up, which means she fell asleep eventually.

_____________________

Amalia stretches her wrist and tapes it in carefully. She takes a last look at a map that lays on her desk and covers them up. There are many things to consider now. They need more propos, new material needs to be filmed. Which makes it more important that the rest of the victors are rescued. She’ll hopes she can fit in some training today, because when they are ready, she is going to be.

She puts her arm the wall. She has a small amount of time for breakfast and after that she’ll talk with Beetee.

………………………

Katniss puts her arm in the wall and looks at her day schedule. After breakfast she is expected at production.

She eats her portion she is given and when she leaves the table Gale follow her. She glances at him and she sees he got his communication-band back: ‘I see you got it back.’ She says pointing at her wrist.

‘Yesterday. They think I can be and extra way to communicate when we’re in the districts.’

‘Now that will make comminution possible, at least with one of us.’ She answers. Would they give her one is she asked for it?

‘What do you mean?’

‘Nothing.’ She says, she doesn’t think he’ll bring it up: ‘I only repeated what you said. And I agree that you should be that person. I only hope that I can still communicate with you.’ She stops walking and looks at Gale, realizing how angry she actually is.

‘Katniss…’ He knows he did something wrong that he should have said something: ‘Why didn’t you say something?’

‘Me, why didn’t you?’

He lays a hand on his other arm: ‘I wanted to, but everyone was so scared that if someone would mention Peeta around you that… That it would upset you. I’m sorry.’

‘It did. But it’s worse that you would lie to me for president Coin.’ She moves her foot, but stops: ‘Amalia came, she was also worried I would get upset. But she said I deserved the truth.’

……………………………..

Amalia is talking with Cressida about a sort of eyeliner while they wait for Katniss and Gale to arrive. And when they do, Amalia notices the tension that hangs between them. He didn’t tell her. ‘In an hour or two, we will go to district twelve.’ She looks at Katniss, who looks kind of happy with that: ‘Cressida sees potential for new material. Be prepared and ready in hour at the hovercraft. It’s been put in your schedule this morning, so you know where you are expected.’

______________________

The way Amalia makes sure she is ready.

1 She goes for a short run. Only twenty minutes, but enough to be pumped and energized. She likes running over heavy lifting or any other sport.

2 she goes over what could happen in district twelve and which place to go to or avoid. It could be a difference between good material or wasted time. Maybe not wasted, she thinks it do Katniss some good… and even Gale can profit from a visit. Even if he doesn’t think he needs it.

3 putting on her ‘uniform’, she feels most comfortable in it, she is ready for whatever can happen. She puts her hoodie over it. Now it’s time to.


	18. Chapter 17

Amalia sits in the hovercraft, on her left is Cressida and opposite of them sit Gale and Katniss. She thinks of the ‘in our remembrance’ propos. Finnick had done a few and she had helped him with it. They are beautiful, and that’s because they know them. He tells stories, he speaks about them from his hearth. Yesterday evening she talked with him and today they would try do a few more.

They land and Katniss asks: ‘Why isn’t Haymitch here?’

‘He couldn’t come.’ Amalia answers; She sees Katniss frowning: ‘He said I cannot do this without a bottle.’ She thinks Katniss is underestimating this, maybe she has been here since the destruction she thinks it will be easier this time… but it won’t be.

They stand up and Amalia walks behind Katniss and Gale. He hadn’t been on the ground since it happened. You can see in the way he scans the area and his shocked expressions. Katniss looks at him as well and then back to the corpses, she sees them again in a new light: ‘What should I do?’

‘Do what you want to.’ Cressida answers Katniss question. They follow her to her house. She walks around in it, they film her. She opens a few cupboards and then they leave.

The next place we go is Gale’s house. He walks in and stops after a few steps; he only looks from that spot. They film him as well and Cressida eyes Amalia to step forward and say something. She goes and stand next to Gale and looks at her: ‘This is where you lived?’ She states the obvious.’

He nods and moves again.

‘Can you tell me something that happened here? A good memory.’

He walks past the place that’s supposed to be the kitchen and starts telling about his siblings Rory, Vick, and Posy, and his mother, Hazelle. He tells about a game Vick made up and how everyone went along with. At the end of the story he looks at her: ‘And now this is destroyed. This place wasn’t perfect. Far from it, but it was home.’ He walks to another room; she follows and sees that one of the walls is almost completely gone. And she lays her hand on his shoulder and squeezes slightly.

_________________________

The lake outside District twelve, they take a pause there. Everyone takes some water to cool down. When Amalia looks up, she sees Gale sitting a little bit further, not away from the group, but not with the group either. There is some bread with cheese, and she takes two portions, one to give to Gale. She sits down next to him but doesn’t say anything. She eats and waits.

It’s silent, they eat. Pollux whistles a tune and they hear a bird return with same melody. Amalia look up and sees like all the others how other birds sit down on a few branches, waiting for another melody to come.

Pollux looks smiling at Katniss.

Katniss whistles four tones they recognize from the games: ‘Do you want to hear me sing a real song?’ She asks Pollux.

He nods.

Katniss starts to sing.

_Are you, Are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Where they strung up a man they say murdered three_

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it be_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree_

When the first passage is done the birds have all changed from the last tune. They sing along with Katniss.

_Are you, Are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Where the dead man called out for his love to flee_

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it be_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree_

The birds know what’s coming. It seems that every couplet has the same melody.

_Are you, Are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free_

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it be_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

Now everything goes quiet, there is no other sound than Katniss’s voice.

_Are you, Are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me._

_Strange things did happen here,_

_No stranger would it be,_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

Not only the birds are silently looking and listening, they all do. But this was the last part of the song.

When Katniss turns around, she realizes she is being filmed: ‘Cut.’ Cressida says.

Plutarch stand up and claps his hands together: ‘You’re fantastic.’

‘I didn’t do it for the camera.’ Katniss reacts.

‘Now than it’s good they were turned on.’ Plutarch says: ‘Now let’s get back.’


	19. chapter 18

Above the ground is nothing to see, the threes move along with the wind. The rain falls down. There is nothing until a hovercraft arrives and lands in an opening in the ground. There are a few birds, but they don’t give any reaction.

Downstairs everyone gets out and starts doing what is planned for the rest of the day.

…………………..

Amalia changes her clothes. When she is not on a mission, she prefers her regular clothes. Simple pants and a plain black T-shirt. She puts her hair up, looking in a mirror. She is in an empty room. She likes this room, maybe it’s because of the lighting. They use fairytale-lights, it’s the only place in this district that has them.

She sits down legs crossed. Meditation, a way to remove the tension that the destruction of district twelve gave her.

_…. Flashback…._

_…. Amalia – 12 years old……_

_Amalia paces up and down the length of the apartment. Her father is writing in one of his journals. He sighs and looks up: ‘What’s wrong now?’_

_‘I don’t know.’ She says: ‘In general… I should be able to do something.’_

_‘Yes, and we do what we can now. When it’s time, you must be ready.’ He says and she looks at her father, and he continues: ‘But right now we meditate.’_

_……. Present……..._

And they did that. It was always one of the two, meditation or running. He said those things are good for body and mind. Both are equally important.

………………..

Cressida doesn’t want to or need to wait. She directly goes to her ‘work’-area. She plugs in the camera and transfers the material. The first twenty minutes are her alone-time. She needs to work with what is recorded. This how she works and even in the Capitol they knew this is how she gets the best results.

She looks at the screen, her hand on her chin. Scanning, looking for different parts that work together.

Her left hand on her knee, right hand on the mouse.

Her head up, thinking it trough. She widens her eyes and looks down. She rummages through desk until she finds the notebook and a working pen. Then she writes down the idea that just popped up.

Castor, Pollux and Messalla walk in followed by Plutarch to see what she has.

……………..

Gale tales the elevator down to the level where Beetee works on his projects, in one of them he is involved. He advises and test on some traps. It not something he thought he would enjoy, but he does. Not that he likes violence, but this a way to do something.

Beetee has his wheelchair rolled under a desk. He is going over some new developments while on the other side tries to work on getting the propos to air in the Capitol. Gale looks for a minute and then states his opinion.

What happened in district twelve goes to the background of his mind. He couldn’t help there anymore. And here in this way he can make a difference.

……………

Amalia takes the handle of the door when she hears someone. It’s Plutarch hurrying trough the hallway on his way to Coin’s office, the one she is standing in front of: ‘Just on time.’ She says grinning.

He nods and motions her to go in.

‘There you are.’ Coin greets them: ‘Take a seat.’ She leaves a break when her guest each take a chair: ‘I hear things went well in district twelve.’

Plutarch answers, he knows how Amalia can react: ‘Even better than expected. We have some great material. Cressida and the others are working on it and Beetee made some progress.’

‘The question is, can we screen them everywhere.’ Coin asks.

‘Yes. I think so.’ He answers.

‘The Capitol? How sure are you?’

‘Yes, almost certain.’ He hopes Beetee comes through.

Coin almost looks happy.

‘We’re on track. I’m very happy with how we’ve come with Katniss, the mockingjay.’

‘It could be better.’ Coins smile fades.

‘It can always be better.’ Amalia reacts. The stress didn’t disappear, and this isn’t helping either.

‘What she means is that we are thinking of new ways that can improve what we already have.’ Plutarch says.

‘I’m sure that’s what she meant.’ Coin says nicely.

………..

Haymitch talked with Beetee this morning, with Coin and even with some other people like a high-ranking officer. He tries to come up with a plan of attack. Where do they strike first? He has a few very different plans. He should talk them over with Amalia. She has an eye for detail. She should be back by now. He didn’t go with them, to district twelve, back to his home… He grabs next to him in thin air… A part of him still expect there to be a bottle, there isn’t of course. He focusses on the plans in front of him again.


	20. chapter 19

_A teenager writes in her diary, with firm letters she forms the words that could contain a plan. She is smart enough to be vague._

_‘Amalia! What are you doing? This is exactly the reason we lost so much.’ Her father snatches the book. Her pen leaves a line across the page._

_…_

Amalia puts on some comfortable shoes. She crouches to tie the laces. Her mouth forms a thin line.

…

_‘You don’t understand.’ Amalia answers her father, her eyes pierce right through him._

_He sits down on the end of the bed looking at his daughter: ‘Talk to me. We could always speak to each other.’_

_‘Things change.’ She turns away, but sighs: ‘How can you sit at that desk and work alongside them. After what did they did to mother.’_

_…_

Amalia rubs her tears from her eyes and stands up. She puts up a brave face and leaves her room.

…

_‘They killed her. I know that you kept it secret to protect me, but that doesn’t change anything.’_

_He stays silence, she knows it hurts him. She cannot help herself; she needs answers._

_‘It changes everything. Now you cannot do anything, but don’t think that if got the change I would sit down silent. I’m planning and when I’m close, I’ll tell you everything you need to know.’_

_…_

Amalia runs. One foot in front of the other, she doesn’t think. Others are training on the field as well. Some have tactical training, or some fight each other, practicing combat. She sprints past a few other, the follow her with their eyes.

At the end of the tour she stops, her hands of her knees. She is out of breath, her wrist pounds. She doesn’t feel the pain.

‘You shouldn’t strain yourself like that with your injuries.’

She looks up: ‘Gale?’ She steadies her breathing: ‘What are you doing here?’

‘They told me I would find you here. There is an extra meeting before they’ll announce the new promos. It’s not going to be on you schedule.’

______________

Katniss sleeps in one of the pantries. The keep here things they don’t need replaced regally, pencils, erasers, … She went to bed without dinner yesterday. It didn’t change how tired she still is. She gets up when it’s time for dinner. An extra-large portion of beans this time and portion of silence.

She walks back towards department E.

Boggs cuts her off: ‘Meeting is in headquarters. Are you ignoring you schedule?’

‘No problem.’ She changes direction.

‘Do you follow it sometimes?’ He asks.

She holds up her wrist: ‘I’m mentally confused.’ She sees the bracelet is gone: ‘See, I cannot even remember I don’t have that anymore. Why do I have to go to headquarters? Did I do something wrong?’

‘Cressida is showing the new propos. But you always see them when they are broadcast.’

‘That’s something I need a schedule of. When they show the propos.’

………….

Amalia sits in one of the chairs. Headquarters is filled way more than usual. She sits between Haymitch and Finnick. Katniss walks in followed by Boggs. And then it’s time. There is a live program on Capitol tv planned. A speech from president Snow or something. It’s the perfect way to check if Beetee’s work has worked.

The screen changes from the emblem of the Capitol to Snow. He greats the public. He wears an expensive suit, with a white rose in his front pocket. The image zooms out to show Peeta is also there.

Amalia tries to see how he is doing, but it’s difficult. His muscles seem tense, he taps on his prostatic leg with one of his hand in a strange rhythm. But his eyes scare her, angry but glassy, almost empty. She looks at Katniss, her posture changed when she saw Peeta. She whispers something and Finnick takes her hand. They try to support each other.

Peeta stars speaking, fast and frustrated. He points out different things that went wrong, fires, a derailed train with toxic waste. ‘There needs to be cease fire.’

Peeta disappears and Katniss’s head appears on the screen. She stands in a burning building. Amalia recognizes the bakery they filmed yesterday. She straitens and she hears Plutarch celebrate: ‘He did it! Beetee did it.’

Most people that are in the room starts to whisper to each other, feeling relieved. Amalia is focused on Peeta. He is confused. Is it because of the image, because he saw Katniss? He tries to continue talking about the rampage.

He needs to stop when an image of Rue is on screen. It switches between Peeta in the Capitol and pieces of propos they created.

There are only a few who aren’t excited, Amalia, Finnick, Haymitch and Katniss. Whit each minute the image of the capitol become less and less present.

There is a moment that Peeta is on the screen Snow ask him if there is something, he wants to tell Katniss.

He tenses up even more and looks straight at the screen: ‘Katniss… How do you think this will end? None are safe, not in the Capitol, not in the districts. And you… In 13… You’ll be dead….’ He takes sin a sharp breath, he looks like he is out of breath: ‘By tomorrow morning.’

In the background is chaos, different people shout to stop recording. There is a smack, a scream she knows belong to Peeta. The last thing they see is blood spout on the floor.


	21. chapter 20

First everything is silent. _And you… In 13… You’ll be dead… By tomorrow morning. _

Katniss stares at the screen, Amalia’s face is expressionless, she tries to figure out what happened. What have they done to Peeta? The blood spatters are on their minds. Finnick looks at Katniss, he tells her to calm down, but doesn’t look it himself.

Haymitch looks around and sees that a few people start asking questions and possible answers fly around the room. ‘Everybody, shut up!’ Yells Haymitch and they stop and look at him: ‘It is clear what the boy said. There is going to be an attack.’

‘How does he know that?’

‘Why should we trust him?’

‘Why do you think that?’

‘Does it matter?’ Amalia’s turn to raise her voice: ‘They are beating him this second. We should at least listen and seek cover.’ She stands up: ‘What are you all looking at? We don’t have much time.’ She runs out and take one last look at Haymitch.

‘She is right!’ He states: ‘You don’t know him, but we do. Get everyone ready.’

The president looks calm, she turns around and touches a few buttons on a screen: ‘Of course, we are prepared for something like this. We didn’t really consider that the Capitol would actually do this. The consequence is too high, with radiation levels rising… They knew there would be a counterattack too. It could do great damage to our infrastructure.’

‘Would you think so?’ Haymitch sarcasm is missed by her. He sounded too serious for something President Coin isn’t familiar with.

‘Yes, it could lose us some time, but it’s time for and safety exercise from level 5 anyway.’ She pushes a red button that appears on the screen.

………………….

Amalia is in the hallway when she hears the alarm. She never heard something this loud. She starts leading people towards the stairs, but they seem to know what they’re doing. The exercises helped, they practiced this and there is nothing to tell this isn’t just another one. She runs further downstairs, the sounds lesson and the pain in her ears gets more intense. She takes place at one of the scanning posts. She stands against one of the walls and makes sure everyone scans their raster, to confirm everyone is in safety zone.

It goes rather easy, she expected panic or at least chaos. In almost as little time as can be imagined the stairs are empty. Amalia walks inside, she is last: ‘Close the door.’

Katniss run towards them: ‘NO! Stop!’ She barely gets through the door.

Amalia signs to stop the doors.

‘Prim! Prim, where are you?’ Katniss sounds completely panicked.

A small voice comes from above them: ‘We’re almost there.’

‘Keep that door open!’ Gale states calm.

‘They’re almost here.’ Katniss tells them.

One of the guards takes Katniss and pulls her inside: ‘We have to close is now. That are our orders.’ He nods to the other guard.

Katniss struggles and Gale shouts at them to wait.

‘No!’ Amalia doesn’t shout, but her voice is loud: ‘I said to keep the door open. On my authority, you will not close that door until I tell you to do so.’

The guards stand still and nod at her, Katniss is released and runs towards her sister. Amalia sees she has everyone’s attention.

Katniss and Prim runs inside, Prim holds her cat.

‘Now.’ Amalia commends. The door gets closed this time.

Katniss and her sister go to their compartment, Gale starts going to same way to his one and his family.

She walks through the halls and sees the instructions against the wall.

_1 See if everyone from your compartment is accounted for._

_2 Go to one of the supply points and get 1 packet for each person. Arrange your living quarter and bring back the empty packet._

_3 wait until further instructions._

The sounds from the alarm had stopped when the doors were closed. There is a more silent version and then the voice of President Snow comes through the speakers: ‘I’m happy to hear that everything went well and that everyone is accounted for. But this isn’t an exercise. Peeta Mellark, the winner from 12 said something that could mean a possible attack on district 13 tonight. Don’t panic! We are prepared for this and you’re all save.’

The moments she stops talking the first Bom hits the surface. It trembles to the ground and shakes them, leaving a deadly silence.


	22. chapter 21

The first Bom hits the surface. It trembles to the ground and shakes them. It’s less of a shock than Amalia expected. The light switches of and she is surrounded by darkness. Almost everyone is in their beds, together with their family.

Amalia stands in the middle of the hallway and waits until a few moments later the light glimmers back on. Only this light is warmer and darker. She sees parents comforting their children. There is no panic. She makes her ways to her to her bed. There is a package on her bed. Someone must have known that she would forget to get one.

The speakers turn on again and President Coins speaks to them: ‘Peeta Mellark’s information turns out to be correct. We owe him a lot of gratitude. The meter shows that this bombe wasn’t a nuclear missile, but it was very powerful. We expect that more will follow. Everyone needs to stay in their compartment, unless you get other instructions.’

……….

Amalia has just enough time to make her bed, she lays down the cushion when a guard walks up to her: ‘They need you in a meeting.’

She puts her arms down: ‘Lead the way.’

The guard leads her to a separate room. The furnishing is kept to a bare minimum.

Amalia sits down and President Coins starts talking. There is a lot to talk about, the bombs and how react to them directly, but also how to make sure everyone keep everyone on a healthy schedule.

………….

When the meeting was over Amalia walks back to her bed. On the way she stops to talk to the ones that are still awake. It’s after midnight when she gets to sleep.

The next day people start to follow the schedule they worked on yesterday. Amalia looks around and pick in where it’s needed. It almost feels normal.

Over the next few days there are a few more bombs, but none worse than the first one. Amalia talks a lot, letting them know she is there. There a few more meetings, but she isn’t needed for all them.

Amalia needs a cracker. She is looking at Katniss, holding a rope. Finnick asked is she knew where they could find one. He helps by telling Katniss how he deals with it.

The last 24 hours were calm. President Coin decides it’s time to leave the lowest level and to start rebuilding the damaged parts.

_‘We should make propos, to show that we survived the attack and that the Mockingjay is alive.’_Plutarch’s words echo in my head. President Coin reacted that there wouldn’t be much time.

She sees Gale and goes towards him: ‘I was looking for you. You need to come with me. Coin told me to get a few people.’

He nods and turns around and his mother nods.

‘Are you all ok?’

They start walking away: ‘Everything is fine, considering.’

‘Indeed.’

‘You look horrible.’ He says: ‘Not in a bad way, but have you slept or eaten at all?’

‘I have.’ She gives in, she knows the bags under her eyes show her lack off sleep: ‘Crackers mostly, and that one canned thing, I think that I were some sort of vegetables.’

‘There are Katniss and Finnick.’ He points out.

‘Good.’ She says and signs to Finnick that they have to come: ‘That’s everyone. I told Beetee where he needed to go.’


	23. chapter 22

Amalia stands outside, she holds a coffee and looks at Katniss. She struggles. Cressida tries to explain her what do, how to say ‘her sentence’ the right way. Or at least a believable way. Katniss tend to act too much; you can see it’s organized by someone else.

Gale holds out a cracker, and she takes it from him, dips it in her coffee.

Cressida tries to move Katniss to a different location, everyone follows.

Amalia walks up to Cressida: ‘I don’t know if Katniss can make it work. We saw it before, it needs to come from herself.’

‘I know.’ Cressida nods: ‘I’m working on a backup plan.’ She glances back at Katniss.

‘There is something there?’ Gale says.

Amalia turns and sees it, she walks closer. ‘Are those fresh flowers?’ Cressida asks.

‘Don’t touch them!’ Katniss runs to the location: ‘These are for me!’ She looks around at the white and red roses. It’s clear there is deeper meaning for her there.

Amalia stops Cressida from going closer, giving Katniss her moment. Plutarch walks up them: ‘What’s going on?’ He asks under his breath.

Katniss didn’t hear him, but she reacts when she turns: ‘What do you want me to do?’

‘Just a few sentences to prove that everyone is alive and strong, that the attack didn’t work.’ Cressida explains.

Katniss nods in response, she looks at the red light of camera, but she doesn’t find anything to say. She starts looking around, her eyes widen.

Cressida motions to lower the camera: ‘Are you ok, Katniss? Maybe I can ask you a few questions? Do you think that is better?’

‘Ok, we can try that.’ Katniss says.

The camera starts filming, Katniss looks at the red light, her muscles tense up. Cressida asks her question and Katniss starts to answer but stops halfway. Cressida tries again, waits for Katniss to calm down. But Katniss moves her arms and walks away from the camera.

‘Cut.’ Cressida says: ‘What’s happening?’

‘She gets now, how Snow is using Peeta.’ Finnick says. Amalia nods and Gale looks at Katniss.

It was going to happen once. The times they saw Peeta on screen, where the only things they knew, and it didn’t say much. Katniss is crying. Amalia doesn’t look at Plutarch, but she knows he is listening: ‘It’s time, we’ve waited long enough. I know Coin doesn’t want to hear anything about it. This isn’t how we should be doing this.’

‘I know.’

Katniss and Haymitch walk past them and she takes Katniss’s hand, she doesn’t say anything. But they get it, in a way you don’t if you don’t know Peeta. She lets go and Katniss and Haymitch walk inside.

…………………

While Cressida works on getting a propos out. Others coordinate a cleanup. Amalia has worked on a plan. She stands in front of Coins office. She storms in: ‘It’s time. I asked for a rescue of the ones kept in Capitol a few times now. You always said that the victors weren’t a priority for now. But this cannot continue like this. You’ll lose more than you think.’

‘I know.’ She says calm: ‘They came in before you and kind of told me the same thing, but they were smarter about it.’

Amalia sees Plutarch and Haymitch standing at the side of the room.

‘I’ll give you control of this mission. The point has been made and as soon as you have a team ready, I’ll give you the resources. But you’ll only work with volunteers.’

………………

Amalia should have known Gale would be her first volunteer. He was talking with Beetee downstairs, when she was collecting the weapons and arranging the hovercraft to be ready as soon as possible. They said, they could arrange it for the early evening, which would give them cover of the night.

……………..

The hovercraft takes off with minimal staff. Pilots, someone for extra security, someone medical and then the five that would do the rescue itself.

‘Beetee gave us new martial for cover.’ She stands behind the woman that will handle the equipment: ‘She is going to make sure that the Capitol will not notice that we’re there. Extra safety, there are other preparations being taken. We go in, as silent as possible and will not catch any attention.’ She looks around: ‘There are guns, but knives are more silent. Uses them is you get the chance. We don’t want to be noticed, so that we come across a minimum of soldiers.’


	24. Chapter 23

……………………

… District 13….

……………………..

Beetee sits in front of a computer, he looks at the screen. He is done hacking his way in the system, a five second wait… And he is in. He puts up his thump and starts typing again.

Haymitch puts his hand on the ear of his headset: ‘You’re up… Electricity is down!’

_‘Ok, we’re good to go.’ Amalia answers from the other side_

‘We’ll give you as much time as possible.’ He replies puts his headset out and looks up. Now they wait and hope.

……………….

The hovercraft is in positions above the tower. It’s the one where the candidates are being kept during the games.

A black rope falls down, Amalia goes first, she guides herself down in the blackness. She turns on her night-vision-glasses and scans the area. She pulls the rope as a sign the roof is empty and moves towards the door.

Four other people come down the rope, one after another. She has unlocked the door and goes through. Gale is behind Amalia, she knows the building better than the others, even in the dark she would find her way around. She guides them down the stairs, moving fast.

To Level 12.

To Level 11.

To Level 10.

……………………

… Flashback…

……………………

_Amalia talks to a kid from district ten. He is 13-year-old, it’s time for him to return back to his districts level. He needs to attend dinner and go over what the next three days will be like for him. The boy leaves, and Amalia finishes her sentences in her file and puts it away in a secured cabinet. _

_Going through some other files, reading where she left off. She pretends to be working until half past seven. She leaves her office; she has ten to twenty minutes max to find information and a secure location to keep prisoners. She knows it somewhere. The guards must have left by now, she must be gone when the new ones arrive._

………………….

… Present….

…………………

To Level 9.

To Level 8

To Level 7

…………………….

… District 13…

…………………….

Haymitch gives the control over to Plutarch: ‘Here, I’m going to see if Katniss is awake.’

‘To tell her about the mission. Is that a smart idea?’

‘I don’t know.’

Plutarch nods: ‘She doesn’t deserve to be kept in the dark. I understand. Not about this.’

…………………

… Rescue….

………………..

To Level 6

To Level 5

To Level 4

……………………

…District 13…

……………………

Katniss wakes up. She starts panicking again. Haymitch squeeze her shoulder: ‘It’s going to be ok.’ He tells her.

She stops struggling and looks at him.

‘They’re trying to rescue Peeta.’

‘Hé?’

‘Amalia assembled a team of volunteers. She wanted to do it before, but now everyone is convinced that is necessary for you to save him. So that you can function as out Mocking Jay.

‘Is that way they didn’t do it before?’

‘It’s a costly operation, there is risk of exposing some of our people to the Capitol, and not only the team that will do the actual rescuing.

…………………..

… Rescue……

…………………..

To Level 3

To Level 2

To Level 1

…………………….

… District 13…

…………………….

Katniss sits up, takes a drink, processing what Haymitch told her. ‘What do you mean?’

‘There is a big possibility that someone will die. But that happens every day. It’s a risk they’re willing to take to safe Peete… But also, the others. The other victors, Annie for Finnick.’

‘Where is he?’

‘Behind the screen.’ Haymitch replies: ‘He went mad after we gave you that injection. They give him another one. He is sleeping now. What a day?’ He tries to fake a smile, cheer her up. Distract her.

……………………

…. Rescue……

……………………

The Ground Floor. They hear someone coming closer. Amalia turns her head and sigs at Gale to stop behind the corner. There is guard walking by he is drunk. She guesses he isn’t on duty now. He walks past them, into the other corridor.

She signs Gale it’s ok and the go farther down.

To Level -1.

To Level -2. She takes the sign. A mockingjay carved out of wood. And shows it around the hallway. A guy appears. He is in his late twenty’s.

……………………..

…. District 13…

……………………..

‘Apart from Amalia, who is with them?’ Katniss asks Haymitch.

‘I think there are eight of them…’

‘Tell me!’

‘You know who is with them. He was the first to volunteer when he heard Amalia prepare for the mission.’

She knowns it: ‘Gale.’ She whispers. There is much to lose. They better succeed.


	25. chapter 24

……. Rescue…….

A guy appears. He is in his late twenty’s. He looks from Amalia to the others and goes back to her: ‘Ready?’

Amalia nods.

‘You won’t have much time. You go in, to the right and the third hallway.’ He gives her two keys.

‘Thank you. You stay here and warn us if someone comes back.’ She gives him an earpiece, leaves through the door that he opens.

………………………

District 13

…………………..

Katniss has something to do now. Haymitch and Plutarch agreed that if they couldn’t join the mission, because of their health and the potential risk. She and Finnick could try and record more propos to further distract the Capitol.

_‘How did you meet Peeta?’_

_Katniss looks into the camera and tries to be honest and open. Show her emotions: ‘I’ve met him when I was eleven. I was barely alive at the time. There was no food, for myself or my little sister or my mother.’ She swallows and trembles: ‘I had just lost my father, and I… I didn’t know what do. It was him that saved me that day.’_

_‘And how did he do that?’_

_‘A burned loaf.’ Katniss says: ‘He threw it at me, it was something that I needed to get back on my feet.’_

_…._

Katniss tells her story detailed enough; she shows the impact it had on her. She nods, lays her hand on her other arm while she continues to speak.

…

_‘I hate it that Peeta is there in the capitol. Where Snow has the power to hurt him… And me at the same time.’ She breaths heavily, but signs that she can go on: ‘But there is nothing more that he can do to me. I must continue this... I know he wants me to even if he doesn’t say it. They are doing something to him. But President Snow once told me that the Capitol is vulnerable.’ Katniss looks into the camera: ‘I didn’t know it at the time, but the capitol depends on their districts on everything. The districts takes care of there energy, food, other supplies. They even rely on them for their safety._

…

Finick stands in front of the camera. They changed positions; he stands in front of a white wall.

Katniss looks at him from behind the glass. She doesn’t know what he is going to tell.

….

_‘President Snow, he… sold me. He sold my body. And I wasn’t the only one. When one of the victors was found attractive, that’s what happened._

_…_

_‘I wasn’t the only one, but I was the most popular.’ Finick continues: ‘The people that bought me, used to give me expensive gifts like jewelry or money, to buy of their guilt. But I found something way more treasured. I asked for secrets and if I was you President Snow, I would watch this. Because a lot of these secrets are about you.’ _

…………………

Rescue

………………….

The five of them go into the right hallway. She gives one of the two keys and signs that they need to split up. Three go in one direction, Amalia and gale go in the other direction.

She looks at him, opens one of the doors and gives him the key.

_______________________

Amalia waits outside medical. Katniss and Finnick arrive, both looking panicked, wanting to know more. Finicks face changes when Annie walks in. He runs towards her.

Katniss looks away from them through the window she can see Gale. He is wounded, but alive. Everything went well, according to the plan anyway.

Amalia lays a hand on her shoulder: ‘We rescued anyone, except Enobaria. But she is from District two, maybe she wasn’t even a prisoner at all.’

Katniss turns to look at her.

‘He is saved.’ Amalia says.

‘But.’

‘I don’t think he is himself.’


	26. chapter 25

Katniss turns to look at her, she waits to hear what she has to say, especially about Peeta.

‘He is saved.’ Amalia tells her, her voice trembles slightly.

‘But.’

‘I don’t think he is himself.’

‘But how…’ Katniss tries to look past Amalia: ‘I want to see him.’

‘You can.’ Amalia answers: ‘of course, you can.’ She starts walking towards his room in the hospital wing. She doesn’t know what happened to him there. He has some injuries, like the others. But what bother her, is something different. A look in his eyes. When she and her team saved him, he didn’t react like she imagined. He didn’t cause any trouble either, followed them and they got everyone out without seeing anyone else, but still, something felt off. She isn’t any closer to knowing what changed.

Katniss sees Peeta through a window. He doesn’t see her yet: ‘He looks ok. When you said… I thought… Is he?’

It’s not the physical, it’s his mind that doesn’t feel the same. She doesn’t even know she thinks that there is something off. He talks normal, he reacts normal… Everything looks… yes, normal: ‘Just go and see him.’ She opens the door and starts walking away.

A scream grabs her attention. It’s not loud, she turns. This is not normal. Someone pulls Peeta of Katniss, while someone else helps and loosens his hands. Boggs walks past her and hits him on the head. Peeta falls to the ground. Katniss faints, hand marks on her throat.

‘Get her on a bed.’ Amalia yells.

____________________

Amalia looks trough the window, Peeta is unconscious, but he is going to wake up soon. She is going through her head, what could it be. Thinking about all the things she knows or she heard about.

‘Katniss is ok.’ Plutarch says.

Amalia almost jumps and turns: ‘I didn’t hear you. She is ok?’

‘Unconscious, but no serious damage.’ He looks at Peeta as well: ‘Any idea on what it might be.’

‘Doesn’t it remind you of something?’ She glances at him and looks back at Peeta:

‘Something the Capitol made; I didn’t know they still had it.’

There is a pause: ‘Do you mean Tracker Jackers? They were never destroyed, even when many believed they did, but how can you use them in this way?’

‘There is way…’ Amalia sighs. She remembers finding some text about a study. It was only an application at the time, but their intension was clear: ‘I didn’t believe it work. It uses the fear you experience one has when stung combined with chosen images.’ They must have succeeded: ‘There was a secret research team. I found some of the applications, but never came across any results.’

‘So, he is been injected with their poison?’

‘Haymitch?’ Amalia says: ‘I’m not concentrated enough.’ She mumbles: ‘Yes that’s what I think. I’ll have to speak with him to be sure.’

‘Then you do that.’ He answers and then he looks more serious turning away from the glass: ‘Is there a way to reverse the process?’

‘We’ll only know it if we try.’ She answers: ‘But I think it will depend on his will. The strength of his determination.’

He nods and Amalia leaves the two man at the window and goes into the room where Peeta lays on a bed. He looks peaceful now, but they don’t trust him anymore. They tied him to the bed.

‘President Coin wants to speak with you.’ Someone announces her present.

‘I’ll go.’ She answers, her eyes on Peeta. There needs to be way to help him, but first she needs to talk with him, to confirm what she suspects.

‘Immediately.’

‘Yes.’ She stands up and finds someone from the medical team: ‘If he wakes up.’ She looks at Peeta: ‘Can you let me know?’

‘Ok.’ He looks down at his list of patients.

‘Thank you.’ She says and walks away.

…………………………

Amalia knocks on the door.

‘Come in.’ It’s the voice of president Coin. She goes inside and sees Plutarch seated on one of the chairs. ‘He said the Capitol used Tracker Jacker serum to change his memory in away so he would attack Katniss. Is this true?’

‘In a way…’ Amalia starts to explain.

‘Is it true or not?’

‘I think so, but I need to speak with him first.’ Amalia tells them: ‘Until we know for sure, he needs to be kept away from Katniss and later we need to see how he reacts on therapy.’

‘You think you can reverse it?’ Plutarch asks and Coin leans forwards, concentrating on her answer.

Amalia nods: ‘They cannot have altered every memory of Katniss. We have to find one that’s still there and use it to reason with Peeta, make him see that some of his memory is tainted.’

‘And learn him how to see the difference?’ Coin asks.

‘Exactly.’

‘Will you do…’ Plutarch says, but stops when the screen of the tv in the corner of the room changes. Coin takes the controller and turns up the sound.

They don’t say anything, there is no introduction. There is only a melody playing, the direction of the camera changes and Amalia recognizes the people they show on screen now. Peeta’s prep team. They weren’t in time to rescue them. And now it’s too late. A live execution. Snow took it another step further. 


	27. chapter 26

_Flashback- 15 years old-_

_…………….._

_Amalia sits in a chair, she is doing some paperwork, sorting, writing and putting them neatly in the right folder._

_On the screen in front of her plays a documentary. _

_‘Tracker jackers are genetically engineered wasps, conceived and created in the Capitol. They are genetically coded to attack anyone or anything that disturbs their nest.’ A guy says and the images zoom in on one of the creatures. Unlike natural wasps they will follow their target far away from their nest.’_

_There some old images being shown from the war. The war that came before the games. The war that the districts lost and ended in the destruction of district thirteen. _

_‘Tracker jackers were used as land mines during the war and planted around the districts of Panem. After the Dark Days, the Capitol destroyed them. Tracker Jackers look like normal wasps, except for their larger size and golden coloration. One or two stings can cause powerful hallucinations, but several stings can lead to the death of the victim.’_

_A sentence is shown on the screen: Most people can't tolerate more than a few stings. Most die at once. If you live, the hallucinations brought on by the venom have actually drawn people to madness._

_…………………._

_Amalia’s father: ‘They say they destroyed them, Tracker jackers are still used by the Capitol. It’s to keep people out of restricted areas in the districts. A way to show their power over the districts to show them that the Capitol is and always will be superior … Or that is wat they want the districts to believe. Everyone needs to know, to understand what you can do with a large group. You can achieve more than you believe, if you put your mind to it, together.’_

_____________________________

Peeta lays is his bed, his arm and legs strapped at the bars on the side of his bed. He can move, but he cannot break free. He is awake, looking at Amalia. She lays with her head against the wall, one of her hands on a paper she was writing on. She told him things that confuses him. She said she was going to find images, some proof that what she says is true.

  1. He is Peeta Mellark from district twelve. That he known. But that he now is in district thirteen is new information. He thought it was destroyed a long time ago. They show how it looks every year at the beginning or the hungergames, which he was in. District twelve is destroyed now, his family is dead.
  2. He was in the hungergames with Katniss. And he was in love with her. He knows she said it. She shown his writing in her files. A note from him asking to protect Katniss. He thinks Katniss is wrong, trying to destroy things and just do things a malicious way. The rebels believe her, they believe that is better to have a war. But he doesn’t know anymore, because he doesn’t know if remembers the world the right way.
  3. She said he was LOVED Katniss. He finds it so hard to believe that something like that is possible. When he saw her, he knew he had to attack her, but why attack someone you love.
  4. She said that Katniss loved him and that she even said that they had to save him and not herself. Why would someone who is supposed to be bad, evil, do that?
  5. Tracker Jacker venom can also be used to "hijack" memories in a form of torture. And that’s what happened to him. That’s why he thinks there is something wrong with Katniss and that’s why she was so happy to see him, but surprised when he attacked. And why she didn’t fight back. He wanted her to fight back, to prove that she was who he believes she is, not a good person. And it’s not himself that’s bad.

Is he even himself right now? Or did it change him. Amalia says he is mostly the same, only his memory of Katniss changed. She said she’ll help him get it back, or at least recognize what’s wrong. So that he can know what is real and what they made him think.

Ask questions, as many as he wants. It’s probably the only way to know.

_______________________

Amalia stands outside again, looking through the window at Peeta. He is asleep. Haymitch stands next to her. He looks serious and tired: ‘And is it true?’

‘Yes.’ She replies: ‘his memory is changed, and only with her. I think they wanted him to be their weapon to kill Katniss, because we wouldn’t see it coming.’

‘Good plan, because we didn’t think of that.’

‘But it didn’t work either. Go inside and when he wakes up, you’ll see he is mostly the same.’ She looks at him: ‘It’s something he is worried about. That he isn’t who he is.’

Haymitch nods. Peeta turns in his bed, as far as he can and wakes up, his eyes open, he looks at them, although he doesn’t know that they’re there.

‘How is Katniss?’

Haymitch looks away from Peeta: ‘She is awake. You should go see her. She is worried that he isn’t the same as well.’


	28. chapter 27

Gale walks through a hallway. Amalia walks past him: ‘Gale?’ She looks at confused, where is he going?

He stops and turns to look at her: ‘Hey. Is there something you want?’ He sounds a little harsh.

‘I didn’t mean…’ She stops and breaths: ‘Katniss is awake. Why don’t you go and see her? She’ll appreciate it. I’m on my way right now.’

His face softens: ‘I’ll come along.’ He didn’t want to go alone. A part of him didn’t want to see his best friend hurt. He has seen too much pain in his life, and he cannot blame the attacker this time. Peeta has been experimented on, poisoned in a way: ‘How is Peeta?’

‘Normal, most of the time.’ She shakes her head a bit. Shake herself awake: ‘I’ve been using propos to show him images that aren’t tainted, like the story with the bread.’

He opens the door to the staircase, and she smiles when he lets her trough first: ‘Don’t you do a little too much?’

‘I’m not getting any progress, so no.’ Her hand goes through her hair.

‘You cannot take care of him, if you don’t take care of yourself.’

She laughs, and he raises an eyebrow: ‘Look at you give me smart advice.’

……………………

Gale sit next to Katniss’s bed. He tells how the rescue mission went. Katniss isn’t allowed to say much. They’re careful with her throat.

Amalia and Prim stand a bit further: ‘It’s more difficult to get the memory’s right again. They used the poison to make his memories of her different, make her look dangerous.’

‘But you can turn it back?’

‘It will be difficult and for now I don’t have promising results.’

‘But you’ll keep trying? I mean... You won’t give up?’ Prim asks.

‘Of course not. I’ll keep trying until it works. Or until we find a way for him to know which memories are real and which have been tempered with?’ Amalia head trills and she takes place in another chair close to Katniss’s bed.

‘Are you ok?’ Katniss asks, turning towards her. Her voice scrapes trying to speak.’

Amalia looks up, a little bit of sweat on her forehead: ‘You’re not allowed to speak yet.’

‘I’m going to get you a glass of water.’ Prim says.

Gale looks at her: ‘You need to rest. Go back to you unit and sleep it off.’

‘I must continue to work with Peeta, later today.’

‘It can wait.’ Gale says.

‘He is right, there are other people who can take over today.’ Prim says and gives her the water: ‘Wasn’t there something you wanted to try anyway?’

Amalia nods: ‘reconnect him with one of his old friends, Delly Cartwright.’

‘Than I’ll tell Haymitch to arrange that.’ Prim says and feels Amalia’s forehead: ‘Because I think you’re starting to get a fever.’

Gale stands up: ‘I’ll come with you.’

‘You don’t have to.’ Amalia says: ‘I’ll go, now. No delays. Stay with Katniss a little bit longer.

‘Let him come with you. I’ll stay with my sister’ Prim says: Gale, make sure she has enough water to drink.’

‘Ok, I’ll do that.’

……………………….

Amalia wakes up, her face covered in sweat. Her eyes are panicked, because of a nightmare. Her muscles are weak, she leans up and sees Gale next to her bed in a chair. He is sleeping. She slowly takes her glass of water and drinks it. She puts it and down and Gale wakes up.

He looks at her: ‘Are you feeling a bit ok.’

‘I’ve been better.’ She smiles sheepish.

He stands up and feels her forehead with the back of his hand: ‘You’re fever is rising.’ He fills her glass again: ‘Here drink some more.’

She takes it and drinks a bit: ‘You stayed here?’

‘Not at first.’ I went to talk with Beetee and when I came back you looked worse. So, I filled your glass again. You must have woken up and drank some…’

‘I don’t really remember that. How long did I sleep?’

Not that long.’ He looks at his watch: ‘Six hours? Maybe.’ She shivers. ‘Are you cold?’

She nods: ‘There is a blanket in that drawer.’ She points out.

‘Ok.’ He opens it and take the blanket. Before he turns around, he a picture of a young girl in pigtails with an older man, that must be her father. He looks away and goes over to Amalia, carefully putting the blanket around her.

‘Thank you.’ She says, and gapes: ‘I’m getting warmer.’ She smiles at him, and he says something, but she doesn’t hear it, because she falls asleep.


	29. chapter 28

Amalia wakes up, Finnick sits at a chair next to her bed. He reads something and when he hears her stir to sit up, he looks away from the book: ‘Good morning. You look better.’

‘Do I?’

‘Yeah Gale told me and Katniss that you were having a fever, but it doesn’t look like you have one now.’

‘I must have slept it off. Where is Gale anyway. Is he getting some sleep?’ She hopes so, he went to visit Katniss while she was sick, but he didn’t do much else.

‘No.’ Finnick answers: ‘He is trying to get food for you. That’s why I’m here.’

‘To keep an eye on me?’ She jokes.

‘Exactly.’

She takes her glass and sips from it: ‘How is Katniss?’

‘Better.’ he says: ‘She was there when Peeta got a visitor.’

‘You mean Delly Cartwright.’ She asks: ‘Katniss stayed behind the glass, right?’

‘She did, no worries about that. Everything went well just…’

‘Just what…?’ Amalia moves upwards so she can sit straight, leaning with her back against the wall.

‘He tried to convince Delly that Katniss is evil and needs to be killed.’

‘Oh, and she saw that?’ Amalia gasps: ‘That’s terrible. So, no real improvement after all.’

Finnick shakes his head: ‘But to all the rest he is friendly, so mostly himself I guess.’

______________

A few days later Amalia feels a lot better. No more fever, the tiredness is gone as well. She steps in the lift. She went to see Peeta and he looked ok. She talked to someone from the medical team and told him what to do. Just some extra advise, she knows they know a lot ass well. They just don’t have the experience with this kind of use of the poison and at least she read some research articles.

The lift stops and she gets out. Katniss left the hospital wing as well. Now she is on bedrest. ‘Hey Beetee. Gale.’ She says when she sees them talking: ‘It’s good to see you back to work. Beetee, I’m sorry I have taken up so much of his time.’

‘You were sick.’ Beetee says while writing something down: ‘I was happy he was looking after you. Haymitch told us you have the tendency to just keep going.’

‘You want to see what we do here?’ Gale asks her.

‘Ok, show me what you’ve go.’ She answers.

Beetee opens a few files and Gale explains the idea behind it. He tells me how they started from what he learned by hunting, setting up traps and how they evolved into this project: ‘It’s a bomb that will explode twice.’ Gales says: ‘It’s based on something a trap I know.’

‘You think it will work?’ Beetee asks.

‘Yeah definitely.’ She hums thinking about the damage it could do.

‘It would never have happened if you hadn’t suggested that I talked with Gale about this.’ Beetee concludes.

‘Don’t you think this is overkill. I mean do we want this to work that good?’

‘Amalia, I understand where you come from and why you’re concerned, but the Capitol isn’t going to be gentle with us.’

‘We need to win this.’ Gale adds.

‘Understood.’ She nods, she doesn’t want to argue about it. She doesn’t think this is worth it, but she isn’t the one calling the shots here: ‘I came to get some new weapons for in district two.’

‘I almost forgot.’ Beetee admits: ‘They’re in box twenty-three. In Section H.’

‘They’re sending you on a mission.’ Gale asks.

‘They have taken all the other districts. Now it’s time to win in two as well, before we can move to the Capitol.’

‘If they’re cut off from that district, the Capitol will be easier. No new weapon supply and no new troops.’ Beetee tells them.

____________

Amalia sits in Coin’s office: ‘Katniss will be going with you.’ The president announces: ‘It’s up to you to keep her safe.’

‘Ok. That’s good.’ Amalia replies. She understands where Katniss comes from. With what’s happening to Peete and the strict control that they have in this district. She needs the time and the place to work things out, but also to do something. And in district two they’ll be able to.


	30. Part 2: To tie it together

‘I request to go to district two. I believe there is more I can do there.’ Gale ask President Coin. He stands in front of her desk. He didn’t take a seat. He holds his hands behind his back and looks back at her.

Coin sits down, one leg crossed over the other. She didn’t offer him a seat: ‘Do you believe that?’

‘Yes… President.’

She moves, her chair spins, both her feet on the floor: ‘No, you don’t think that. And don’t think I don’t know why you ask this now.’ She tilts her head: ‘I may reconsider later, but there is work here for you that needs to be finished first. Do you understand, Soldier Hawthorne?’

‘Understood.’

___________________

_…. Three days ago: …._

_A hovercraft is standing in the hangar. Everything is loaded It’s almost time for it to leave. There are two more passengers missing. And there they are: Katniss Evergreen and Amalia Humingbird. Both women walk to the hovercraft. Amalia tells Katniss to take place. Herself, she needs to tell someone that they’re ready for there mission. The hovercraft can leave as soon as she is on it. And be on its way to the only district that still sides with the Capital, to District two._

_…………………………_

_Present_

_…………………….._

Gale leaves Presidents Coins office. Denied! But he’ll work on what she said needs to be finished_. ‘I may reconsider later, but there is work here for you that needs to be finished first’_ That’s what she said, word for word. He’ll follow them, sooner or later.

_______________________

A few floors down and couple of meters further, is the medical area. And it’s there that in a separate room, away from the others that lays Peeta. He doesn’t have any physical wounds, not anymore. He stands next to his bed, looking at one of the walls. A door opens on the opposite wall and a young blonde girl with two braids walks in. Peeta turns around, smiles and says something.

The young girl, her name is Primrose, or Prim, she talks with him and when he goes back in the bed, she gives him the tray with the food that she has with her.

_______________________

Gale talks with Beetee. He points at some things on the screen, little adjustments that he made on the thing they were working on. Gale nods excited about the progress: ‘You think it’s almost ready.’

‘Yeah.’ Beetee tells him and turns back to the screen and starts typing something: ‘We need a solution for this… And then if we find out how to call it than I can finish this up later. Make it reality for when we might need it.’

They talk further.

…….

‘Gale, there is something else I could use some help with.’ Beetee rolls his wheelchair to where he keeps his prototypes.

____________________

A hovercraft almost ready to take off. It’s filled with mostly supplies, medical gear and weapons and accompanying ammo.

……

_‘Your tasks are done. Beetee said your project is in the making, but the designing is finished.’_

_Gale looks up at president Coin: ‘What does this mean?’_

_‘It means that I allow you to go to District two like you wanted too. Are you going to tell me why it is that you want to go there now?’_

_‘I want to help. I know where we are fighting for and it’s the final district.’_

_‘Sure.’ She says slowly._

…..

Gale walks up the hovercraft. A backpack hangs over his right shoulder.


	31. Chapter 1

District two, is located south of the Capitol and consist of many small villages, each one based around a stone mine. These are scattered across the mountains. Like any other districts, District 2 has a central square where the government building is located. it is one of the largest districts, a population of 231,354, and wealthiest districts. Publicly, it is presented solely as the home of the nation's stone quarries and masonry workers, but it is also where many Peacekeepers are recruited, trained, and where weapons are manufactured for their use.

This was rewarded with better treatment and living conditions for its citizens because of their loyalty to the Capitol. Despite this preferential treatment, however, the quarry workers suffer as much as laborers in any other district, and the district as a whole is not excluded from the annual Hunger Games. Those that enter the games are typically Careers, who train for years before competing, as winning is a great honor in Career Districts like district one, two and four.

The resistance had taken over most of the district, either by them joining there cause or by force. They that chose the side of the Capitol are all centered in one big mountain in the middle of District two. This place is called the nut, because they it’s a tough nut to crack.

During the Dark Days, the Capitol's military command was relocated from District 13; its Peacekeeping force, along with a large portion of its fleet of hover planes, were housed in a large mountain in the middle of District 2, which was previously used for mining. Train tracks from the mountain lead into District 2's square, these were used by them who worked in the mountain. After the mountain was thoroughly mined, the internal infrastructure was reinforced, and barracks, arsenals, computer terminals, and meeting rooms were constructed, turning the mountain into a military base and the Capitol's main source of weapons production after losing District 13.

The mountain itself is virtually impregnable, and numerous rebel attempts to capture the entrances were defeated, resulting in a stalemate.

________________________________

Amalia and Katniss move around a lot, from one place to another, so that the Capitol doesn’t know where she is, so that they cannot easily attack Katniss. And Amalia was sent along with Katniss.

They’re now somewhere east of the nut, as far east as can be without leaving the district itself. Amalia sits against a tree, Katniss is hunting or pretending to be. Amalia lets her.

_Amalia: This is place feels different, there is more fear than in the other districts, more order as well. Or I think there used to be, now it’s chaotic._

She looks up, a squirrel climbs up a tree. Smiling she continues to write.

_There is war, chaos, and nature. Some parts don’t seem affected by any of it. I know I am affected by it_.

Between her keeping an eye on Katniss and preparing and filming propos, Amalia discuses tactics for the battlefield. They want to find a way to win the fight from the mountain.

_But I don’t know how. I’m afraid that I’m not made for this kind of thing, that I’m not ready. I thought I could handle it, and I will need to be._

There have been strategies that made it beyond the table, but they always failed. Nobody is going to give in.

_I need to be, because this isn’t over._

_……………………….._

A hovercraft flies into the view. It’s not one from the resistance, it’s one from them, two, …, four.

‘Now.’ Someone yells. The racket launches, and makes it way to the hovercraft, through the sky it flies and collides.

Another one follows.

…. Another.

…. And another.

Flames full the sky. Sparks all around the hovercraft a blast that cannot be ignored. On the ground the air blows in there face.

………………………

Amalia looks up and sees the fire. Behind her Katniss sees the same thing.

_Amalia: ‘This isn’t over. Far from it. I can only hope it will have been word it. And that this doesn’t become more of the same…._

‘Amalia…’

‘We’ll go back Katniss. It’s almost time to move again.’

____________________

A small hovercraft lands, it came from the other side from District 13. This one being from the rebellion, it was left alone.

The landing was successful and there are people waiting to unload the medicine, weapons and ammunition.

The one on board, walk out, they arrived safely, this time. 


	32. Chapter 2

Katniss talks with Gale, he glances aside at Amalia.

‘Beetee you’re here. You think you can help with the nut?’ Amalia says, happy that she isn’t alone with Katniss anymore. Not that she doesn’t like her. She is her friend, but she also doesn’t talk a lot anymore. Peeta is on her mind and that’s understandable.

‘I brought a few persons that can help.’ He motions to Gale.

Amalia laughs: ‘I bet Gale will find a way to make it work as a trap.’ She looks at him: ‘Welcome in District 2, Gale.’ She looks at him: ‘You don’t really have to unpack.’ He looks confused when she says this. ‘Thanks to Katniss, it’s time to move again and both you and Beetee will be coming along, and some few others.’ She explains to him.

‘Where are we going this time?’ Katniss asks.

‘To the center of the District. We’ll be going closer than we’ve been so far.’

____________________

Katniss and Gale walk towards the treeline. There talking, Gale nods answering something Katniss asked. Amalia looks at them, she is happy to see they have each other. This are weird and difficult times, war and then there is Peeta.

He is still suffering from what they did in the Capitol, having his memories changed. It feels somehow worse than having your memories taken. And Katniss… This must be challenging, her wanting to be with him, to be able to go trough this together. But he has changed, not him as a person, but their relationship and the way he sees her.

That Gale is here to support her in this, makes it a little bit more barrable, or at least Amalia imagines it to be. Amalia hopes things are about to change. There was some news on Peeta, but it wasn’t positive although Haymitch tried to make it sound like it wasn’t that bad.

…………………..

The next day it’s time to figure out how to work around ‘the nut’, how to overtake it. But it doesn’t go very well. Lunch came around, got eaten and the meeting went on.

There was an idea to use spies to infiltrate the structure. Beetee suggested that he could hack the computer system.

Now Amalia is looking around the room. Most of them are discussing a way to get in.

Lyme hits her fist on the table: ‘The next one who suggests attacking the entrances best finds an amazing way to that, because that person is going to lead that mission.

Katniss looks up from the window where she is sitting. Katniss didn’t feel like she could figure out a way, so she left the conversation pretty early on.

Gale sits in a chair opposite of Amalia, she looks at him, he is thinking something trough: ‘Is it required to overtake the nut or is it enough to destabilize it?’ He asks.

‘That would be a step in the right direction.’ Beetee says.

Everyone is looking at Gale now, expecting him to go on and explain what he is thinking. Amalia nods encouraging: ‘You don’t want to fight your way in then there are two options left. Either you lock in the dogs or you chase them out.’

‘We already tried bombing the entrances. They’re too deep inside the rock.’ Lime argues: ‘This isn’t going to work.’

Amalia looks at Gale, he looks confident around: ‘That’s not what you mean, right?’ Lyme raise her eyebrow when Amalia asks this, the leader seams interested in finding out more about it.

‘No. I meant that we have to use the mountain. Let it work for us, use the slopes.’

‘Avalanches.’ Beetee whispers: ‘We have to do really precise calculation. I think it can work. You Amalia.’

He always valued her opinion on things, she studies the impact of weapons before: ‘It will work.’ She says careful: ‘But it will kill everyone inside. Is that what we want?’

‘They can still run through the main tunnel and get outside that way.’ Beetee says.

‘Not if we explode that as well.’ Gale says.

Amalia looks at the others, who don’t look nearly as shocked as she is. Because he doesn’t want to spare the people in the nut, this is a deadly trap.

………………

Amalia walks over to Katniss, the girl sits alone looking at her surroundings, the nature makes her calm: ‘Hey.’ Amalia says.

Katniss turns around: ‘Hello, any news on Peete?’

‘Actually, that’s why I came to talk to you.’ Amalia says and sits down next to Katniss on the ground, legs crossed: ‘I talk to Haymitch and he tried to sound positive, but to be honest there is no real progress.’

Katniss nods slowly, progressing the news.

‘They tried to change the memories again, but he got confused.’

‘And is that better or worse?’

‘I don’t know, but I’m sure we’ll get there. I think explaining him the situation, again and again will work eventually. Don’t give up hope.’ She looks at Katniss.

‘I don’t know if there is some anymore.’ Katniss admits: ‘Snow stole him, in way. I knew Snow would do something, but I never realized how far it would go.’

‘That I would be something like this?’ Amalia had thought about it, she didn’t share her concerns with anyone, maybe she should have done that: ‘That it would be on an emotional level?’

Katniss nods and stares in the distance. Amalia stays, and they sit silently for a little bit.


	33. chapter 3

Katniss and Amalia sit on the ground, looking at the nature around them, sitting in silence.

‘He said things like that before.’ Katniss whispers.

‘which things?’ Amalia asks and looks at Katniss, confused: ‘Who are you talking about?’

‘You know, Gale.’ Katniss answers and strokes her fingers through the grass: ‘When we were younger, he said things like that. That he wanted to make the Capitol pay, like he wants to destroy the mountain even… even when it means killing those people.’

Amalia nods: ‘He did?’ she didn’t like it one bit, what he said crossed multiple lines. Lines that she herself doesn’t want to cross. What does she think of it? ‘He is angry and maybe I would have been the same…’

Katniss stops her: ‘No, you’re not.’ It sounds like there is no way Amalia would be like that: ‘It’s not that I think it’s entirely wrong.’ Katniss continues: ‘I get it. I do, but doesn’t that make us the same?’

‘That’s what I think about it.’

‘What do you think? Does it change your opinion about Gale?’

Does it? If Amalia is honest about it, yes it changes things. She didn’t expect, but maybe it’s not that illogical that he comes with an idea like that. After the trap he came up with while working with Beetee… ‘I think so.’

………………………

Katniss talks with Amalia, there conversation stops, she looks behind her and sees Gale. Amalia stands up: ‘Where are you going?’

‘I’m going to find a quiet place, maybe meditate.’

Katniss nods and looks back at Gale while Amalia leaves. He is coming her way. When he is near, he asks: ‘Is she going away, because…?’

Can she lie about this? Yesterday they talked about her. About how he thinks he likes her. He said that she isn’t like anyone else he knows. How easy it is to talk to her, with her. For Katniss it’s more than obvious. He looks at her and Amalia looks at him, makes jokes. ‘I think so. She doesn’t know what to think about it.’

Gale sits down and sighs.

‘She doesn’t know you. Not like I do.’

‘She doesn’t understand it.’ He says.

No, she probably doesn’t. Amalia, how much she wants to help, she grew up in the Capitol. She has a different background. ‘But she wants to. Talk to her.’

‘Do you believe that? Really?’

‘Don’t you?’

He doesn’t answer immediately, thinking it through and nods.

____________________________

The next day the decision is made. Amalia looks around, everyone around is making preparations for tonight. They decided to do it, but to leave a way out. It’s something.

‘Amalia.’

She turns around it’s Gale: ‘Hey.’ She whispers, but loud enough so he can hear. She doesn’t know what she thinks about him now. He is still the same…? Or isn’t he?

‘Can we talk? About yesterday?’ He asks, holding one of his hands behind his back, but he is looking straight at her.

She nods and starts walking through another room at the side. He follows her. ‘I’m glad you came to me.’ She admits when they stand away from the others.

‘Do you believe this is the wrong thing to do? With the explosions, using the mountain against itself?’

‘I think it’s smart.’ She is careful with her words: ‘I wouldn’t have thought about it, no-one did. Expect you, it’s inventive.’

‘But…?’

‘But I think it’s aggressive.’ She tells him, and he nods slowly: ‘I don’t know if it’s necessary… but maybe it is and I’m naïve.’

He looks at her, first not knowing what to say. But when he looks at her, he says something: ‘I don’t want this to turn you against me.’

She didn’t expect this, she smiles and looks in his eyes, searching for something: ‘And it won’t.’ She didn’t know what this would do but seeing him like this. She knows it will not change a thing.

______________________________

That evening the plan becomes real. Katniss stands on the stage. Amalia remembers when she was watching her on that same stage after Katniss and Peeta won and they went to every district. It’s different now, it’s so much different.

Back then, Snow was in control over everything. There were cracks in the wall, but there was one. Now it’s starting to break down completely.

Back then, they were supposed to celebrate … and now we know we don’t have to. That this isn’t a happy time.

Back then Peeta stood beside her and now things have changed. It will change back again, this last thing will.

The hovercrafts flying over the mountain doesn’t make the people from inside ‘the nut’ react in any way. They’re used by their presence, used by the fact that they’re not a threat. But this time it’s different. The explosion does exactly what Gale said and what Beetee predicted. The mountain changes completely, one avalanche starts another. The earth literally seams to move, without any control over it.

Amalia looks at it, it doesn’t even come close by what she expected. It’s manmade chaos, using nature like this. It’s overpowering.


	34. chapter 4

The hovercrafts flying over the mountain doesn’t make the people from inside ‘the nut’ react in any way. They’re used by their presence, used by the fact that they’re not a threat. But this time it’s different. The explosion does exactly what Gale said and what Beetee predicted. The mountain changes completely, one avalanche starts another. The earth literally seams to move, without any control over it.

Gale turns towards her; Amalia sees the glittering in his eyes. He is proud that his plan worked. But behind him she sees the devastating state of the mountain. She tries to think how it would be inside the mountain. Debris coming down, dust everywhere. She imagines trying to cover her mouth for the dust, and at the same time trying to breath. They don’t know the way out, or if there is one. She knows there is only one and that’s where they are waiting. She looks at Gale, and she knows he can see it’s still difficult for her. Destroying this, was difficult to watch for her. By using the explosives, starting the avalanches, they turned the mountain into a tomb.

‘Katniss.’ Amalia shakes her friend. Katniss is shaking: ‘It’s ok.’ Amalia tries. She speaks to Katniss in a calm voice.

When Katniss opens her eyes, she looks panicked. She tries to say something but when sees the damage she stops.

_‘Amalia. Do you hear me?’_ Haymitch speaks trough her earpiece.

‘Yes. What’s up.’

_‘You need to get inside and take Katniss with you. We need to prepare in case they use air force.’ _

‘OK.’ She says back to him and looks Katniss. There is a chance they’ll use there last bit of air support. ‘Katniss, we need to go back down.’

The girl nods, but she isn’t really present. Her mind is occupied, thinking about everyone inside. Amalia let’s Katniss follow her back from the roof to the hall on the ground floor.

Katniss sits down, Amalia sits down next to her. She doesn’t say anything.

Boggs crouches next to them: ‘We didn’t bomb the main entrance. There are going to be people that survive.’

Katniss looks up: ‘And then?’ She asks resolute: ‘We shoot them when we see them?’

‘Only when we have to.’ Boggs says, sounding sad.

Katniss doesn’t agree: ‘We should send in trains and try to help them. You agree, Amalia, don’t you?’

‘Of course, Katniss, but I don’t have anything to say about that.’ Amalia answers and looks at Boggs, she knows what they decided.

‘We agreed to not bomb it, but we’re not going to help. We need the time to arrange our soldiers…’

Amalia has a cold look on her face. Katniss shakes her head disapproving and looks back down. Boggs walks away.

…………………………….

Boggs goes over to talk to Gale. He notices him looking at Amalia and Katniss. ‘It’s going to be.’ He says and Gale looks back at the mountain: ‘It’s time now. I think some of them will come out of it.’

‘Yes, any time now.’ Gale answers a bit distracted. He looks around and hears the shooting increase. He takes his weapon and runs towards the fight.

………………………

The hours pass by and there isn’t anyone coming out of the mountain. Amalia walks back to Katniss: ‘I know you don’t like it, but I think it’s best if you give a speech.’

‘A speech?’ Katniss answers.

‘Yeah, if you can talk them into surrendering, they’ll live.’ Amalia says: ‘It’s the only think I could get them to agree on. You would have to stand on the stage, and I’ll tell you what to say. You’ll only need to repeat it.’

‘I cannot even see them. How will they hear me?’

‘That’s where the microphone is for, you will be broadcasts on the emergency installations that are placed everywhere inside the mountain.’

……………………..

‘Citizens of District two, I ask for your attention, where it is that you can here me.’ Katniss starts her speech. But she stops abruptly when two trains arrive in the opening. Katniss looks at Amalia.

Shots get fired, but of the people who come out of the train lay on the ground, face down. Many of them are wounded. The shots stop. There is young man walking forward. He is bleeding heavily, trying to stop it with a cloth. Amalia tries to go towards him, she wants to take care of his wounds. They should all help.

Gale stops her, he stands behind her: ‘Be careful.’ he whispers and points out the guns she missed. They are all carrying weapons.

‘DON’T SHOOT.’ Katniss shouts and goes towards the man. No one stops her. She tries to help the man up.

………………….

Amalia looks, but she doesn’t listen. Gale stands next to her; his body tenses up. Katniss tries to reason with the man. She keeps talking. Amalia’s eyes widen. Gale lays a hand on her arm. The man moves his arm, Amalia takes a step. A gun goes off. Gale stands still, shocked. And Katniss falls down. Everyone else take their weapons and start moving towards the Mockingjay.


	35. Chapter 5

Katniss lays in a bed in the hospital wing. She is ok. Although she feels terrible. She feels drugged and tries to stay awake. She hears a sound and turns her head, the curtain that hangs between the different patients get shoved aside. Johanna looks down at her. There is a part of Katniss that’s a bit scared of her, she reminds herself that Johanna attacked her to save her life. But she is still a little intimidated: “I’m alive.” Katniss says hoarsely.

“You’re serious, dummy.” Johanna sinks down on the end of her bed and sees Katniss face change when the pain shouts trough her chest. “You’re still in pain?” Johanna reacts.

Katniss knows now that it’s going be the same as it used to be, that she doesn’t need to expect a warm reuniting.

Johanna unscrews the tube that’s connected to Katniss arm. It looks like the girl has done it before and Johanna puts in the tube that taped of in her inner elbow: “The last few days, they started lowering my dose.” Johanna explains, she means her morphine has been cut short: “They’re afraid, I’ll turn into one of those freaks from district 6. Now I’m just taking some of yours, when they’re not looking.”

Katniss nods understanding, she remembers them, the morphlings from District 6. They weren’t themselves anymore because of the addiction.

“Didn’t think you would mind?”

Mind? Katniss thinks, of course not, not after Johanna has been tortured in the Capitol: “Maybe it’s not that bad. They did look happier than the rest of us.”

“They have some sort of psychologist that’s supposed to help me ‘get over it’. Like it’s that easy.” Johanna puts the tube back in my elbow: “Is Amalia coming back?”

Katniss looks confused: “I don’t know.”

“I hope so, maybe I can convince them to let her be the psychologists. At least she is ok and knows not to push too much. This one just keeps repeating that I’m safe.” She looks at Katniss: “And you mockingjay, do you feel completely safe?”

“Maybe, until I got shot.” A flashback in her mind plays back and forth.

“Come on, that bullet didn’t even hit you. Cinna made sure of that.”

Katniss thinks about the Impact: “Broken ribs?”

“No, not even that.”

How is it that she feels so horrible?

“The impact burst your spleen, but you don’t need that anyway. And if you did, they would have found you a new one.” There is something wrong with the way she tells it: “Everything to keep you alive.”

Katniss looks at Johanna: “Is that why you don’t like me?”

“It’s a part of it, jealousy is definitely playing its role.” She tells Katniss this, she looks at the ceiling: “And then there is that thing you do, ‘standing up for the weak’. I find it unbelievable, like it is an act, only it is not. Ant that’s even worse.”

“It should have been you.” Katniss says: “You should have been the mockingjay, nobody would need to tell you what to do or say.”

“True, but yeah, no-one likes me.” Johanna says and goes back to her own bed, as Gale appears.

“Hey.” Katniss says.

He stands at the side of her bed: “You need to stop putting yourself in danger.”

“Maybe.” She says: “but somebody did blow up a mountain.”

“Do you think I’m heartless?”

“No.” She replies instinctive: “I know you’re not. But I cannot say it doesn’t look bad.”

“It’s same think to shoot them with one of Beetee’s arrows.” He says. There is a moment that they’re both quiet.

“When I was in the Capitol. The first time, before the games.” Katniss tells him: “I had to go and talk with Amalia and she told me things about herself.”

“She does have a problem with it.” He concludes.

“Yes, with the effect that bombing had on everyone. But not with you.” She says: “I don’t think so.”

_______________________________

Amalia looks out of the window. District two has been taken. Now they have to deal with the aftermath. There is a meeting about to begin that she will follow. And then it’s time for to go back and report to Coin. President Coin, she almost forgot how everything works in District 13.

Haymitch called and told her about Katniss. She is doing good. She woke up today. And he talked about Peeta. If Amalia is going back, she can take his treatment over. Gale left District 2 with Katniss. And she admits that she does miss him.


	36. Chapter 6

‘What is happening now?’ Amalia repeats Coins question: ‘everyone is regrouping, reinforcing, caring for the injured… and simply reorganizing. This way we can take the fight to Capitol in the best way possible.

Coin nods and recaps what I said before, she sounds presidential, more official.

………………….. 

Amalia walks in Peeta’s room. He is under observation, so she can walk in: ‘Hey, how are you?’

‘You are back?’ He reacts: ‘I’m ok.’

‘Yes, they had nothing for me to do back in two.’ She sits on a chair opposite of the one he sits on. He was reading a book. ‘Is there something wrong.’

‘Something wrong?’ He mocks: ‘Maybe the fact that I do not know what is real and what is not. Maybe because all of you left me in there.’ He is shouting.

Someone comes in, Amalia holds her hand up, sending him away: ‘Peeta, I did not want to…’

‘Does it matter? It happened!’

She gives him a look. ‘I did my best. Everyone did. We wanted to save as many of you as possible.’ She is agitated: ‘You know, you used to understand that things do not always go the way we want them to.’ She closes her eyes and breaths.

A moment passes, Peeta nods slowly: ‘I know.’

‘I have an idea.’ She says, ignoring what happened: ‘Can you bake something for Finnick’s and Annie’s wedding?’

He looks surprised: ‘I did not think I could.’

‘You would have to endure me. But I can make it happen. Is that something you want?’

He nods: ‘There is something else, I want to see Haymitch. You are the only one that comes in. I know he had been behind that window.’ He points at the one-way glass.

‘Ok. I think he will want to do that.’ Even be happy about it.

‘And I want to see Katniss again.’ When Amalia does not react, he says: ‘I think it will be good for me, seeing her, asking her questions directly.’

She can see there is disgust in his face while he says this, but also sincere confusion: ‘Ok.’ She is careful with her words: ‘I am going to ask her. And I do not like this, but this will be under observation.’

_______________________

The moment arrives, a wedding, a moment to be truly happy about something. Finnick and Annie get a wedding that is very outstanding for District 13. Amalia tries to talk down Plutarch, who thinks of a party of three days, beautiful clothes, outstanding music. She does need to convince Coin to let it be a bit more than signing a document and moving units. Everyone can use something like this.

Amalia sees the couple; they look happy as they should be. Those two love each other.

It is a success, a choir of children, 300 guests, someone from twelve on a violin, decoration of leaves, an autumn team.

…………………….

The ceremony is beautiful. The couple looks in the eyes of each other, smiling fondly. They made sure some traditions from 4 were a part of it. Like a net woven from long grass, it covers the couple during their vows and Annie and Finnick touch each other's lips with saltwater. In the end, they kiss which seals the union.

After the ceremony, a toast is made with apple cider. The fiddler then plays songs from District 12. The ones who come from district twelve starts to dance. Amalia smiles, holding a drink in her hand. Katniss comes to stand next to her. ‘You do not like to dance?’

Katniss turns her head, looking at the dancers from district twelve: ‘Not really my thing.’ Gale walks over to them and offers his hand to Katniss: ‘A dance.’

‘No.’

‘It will be fun.’

‘Yeah, you should.’ Amalia encourages.

Katniss looks at Amalia. She sees Gale looking at her as well: ‘Learn her the dance.’ She says, sounding excited. She gives him a small nod.

Amalia takes his hand. He nudges it: ‘I will try to be a good teacher.’


	37. chapter 7

Amalia laughs, turns her head and sees the cake. Four people drive in a beautiful sea blue cake. Peeta made the flowers for on the cake, decorated it. Amalia remembers how happy he was making these. But most of all, how much himself he was.

Katniss looks at her, confused and happy at the same time.

‘Maybe we should tell her?’ Haymitch stands behind her.

Amalia nods: ‘Peeta made some good progress. And he asked to see her again?

He nods.

……………………..

Amalia waits in the hallway. Haymitch walks in, Katniss follows him. She looks at Amalia, confused at what they want to talk about.

‘You saw the cake, beautiful flowers.’ Amalia mentions.

‘Peeta made them.’ Haymitch nods, confirming what Katniss thinks. ‘What’s going on with him?’

‘I don’t know, some days he looks almost like his old self again. Other days… Let’s just say those are not as good.’ Amalia tells Katniss. The confusion when he acts like himself and then it changes. He doesn’t know himself why this happens. ‘The cake was some sort of therapy. It really helped.’

‘So, he is allowed free.’ Katniss looks slightly panicked.

Which Amalia understands, but she hoped it would be different: ‘No, he is still under surveillance and I was there while he worked on the cake.’

‘I did talk with him.’ Haymitch says.

‘And how did it go?’ Katniss asks carefully.

Haymitch looks from Amalia back to Katniss: ‘He was raging but for good reasons this time. Because I never told him about the rebellion and stuff.’

Amalia nods: ‘Same.’ Amalia says: ‘But he wants to see you Katniss.’ She looks at Katniss’s response, her eyes grow big. Katniss looks sick, she holds her hands against the wall, leaning against it. Amalia feels sorry for her, but also for Peeta: ‘I really hoped you would say yes, but…’

‘I want to see him!’

………………………….

Plutarch focuses on getting all the images he needs, all the right film-material. Katniss dances and celebrates the newly-wed-couple. After that, she eats some cake.

Amalia goes to talk with Annie and Finnick, she wants to congratulate them. She is amazed that they get his change. Amazed but happy that this is something that can still happen.

……………………..

Katniss walks over to Gale with her cake. ‘Hey.’ She mumbles, taking another bite.’

He looks away from Amalia: ‘Are you finished your acting.’ She looks at him: ‘You know what I mean, standing in front of the camera, for the propos.’

‘Yes. But I’m genially happy.’ She looks at the happy couple, they’re laughing. Amalia hugs them.

Gale nods.

____________________________

They stand in front of the one-way glass. Amalia can see in, but Peeta cannot see them. She sees Katniss walks in, one step at a time. Peeta looks at her, he is strapped against the bed, he doesn’t react how some expected. He stays calm and studies Katniss.

There is a careful greeting. Katniss asks something. It starts calm, but Katniss… she reacts how she is.

Still... It goes as well as accepted. Katniss comes out of the room and looks at Amalia before turning away: ‘Katniss.’ Amalia tries to follow her. Haymitch stops her: ‘Let her go for now.’ Amalia nods.

Plutarch walks up to them: ‘I saw Katniss. Was it that bad?’

‘No.’ Amalia says: ‘It was good.’

‘Coin wants to talk to you.’

………………………………

‘Sit!’ Coin commends Amalia when she walks in.

‘I’m good. I’ll keep standing if you don’t mind.’ She holds her hands behind her back.

‘That’s why I need you.’ Coin admits: ‘You don’t just do what I say. You see what’s need to be done and has the guts do it your way.’

Amalia didn’t expect this at all, but she does not let it see in her expression. A compliment from Coin, sort of.

‘You need to go to our outpost at the Capital. It has begun. We’ve taken all the districts.’

‘Now, it is time for the Capitol to fall.’ Amalia follows up.


	38. chapter 8

Overwhelmed, that is how Katniss feels when she hears that she is not going to the Capitol. She runs from the hospital wing to where she knows Coin will be. It’s where they plan the war, have discussions about their plans, headquarters. ‘How do you mean; I’m not going to the Capitol.’ She yells when she has stormed in the room: ‘I need to go. I’m the Mockingjay.’

Amalia is in the room; she turns and nods understanding where Katniss comes from. She wants to be there to see it ends herself.

‘As being the Mockingjay, you fulfilled your purpose.’ President Coin says: ‘You united the districts. And everything looks to be going well, we fly you over for the surrendering.’

‘That is too late.’ Katniss screams.

Amalia understands that Katniss wants to be one to kill Snow, and this way it’s not going to happen: ‘I don’t think it would be smart.’

‘I’m your best shot.’ Katniss defends herself: ‘It’s not fair, Gale is going.’

‘And he is prepared. He went to training.’ Amalia explains. The others stay quiet, letting her handle this. ‘It’s your own fault that you ignored them.’

Katniss opens her mouth to say something but stops herself. She probably knows Amalia is right. ‘I want a shot.’

‘You can have three weeks to impress us.’ Amalia says and Coin nods.

______________________

It looks like Katniss is taking her shot. She has taken Johanna under her wing, together they train. Katniss even gets a special treatment to heal her ribs.

Amalia follows her from a distance. She talks with her trainers. There is not have much time for this, she needs to keep up with the ones going to the Capitol. And she needs to prepare herself. There are meetings to attend, to tell her what to do, and what to say once she is there. She talks with Beetee and makes sure the best weapons get picked, for the right positions.

Propos are being filmed. Katniss is training with the other rebels. Showing that they are ready.

And then she has time to breathe. She takes this moment to meditate, in her favourite room. She wants to let everything calm down in her head. They brought Peeta into the scene. They train him now. They said it would be good for the propos and for him. She does not know.

……………………

Amalia waits in a room. Boggs is talking with someone while waiting for Katniss. He stops talking when Katniss enters the room. She shows Boggs the stamp on her hand: ‘You’re with me.’ You see her look around and goes to sit with Gale and Finick.

Haymitch walks in and starts explaining some things about the mission. The most important thing is the holo: ‘Thanks to Amalia we have access to it. She stole it from within the Capitol itself. It shows locations of known pods hidden in the Capitol streets. We can zoom in on the streets and see which pods are nearby. Although some positions might have changed since then.’ Boggs holds it and shows how it can be used.

A holo can only be activated by a specific commander's voice. Once on, it responds to the other voices from the squadron so someone else can take over if the commander is killed. If anyone in the squadron flicks the switch and says "nightlock" three times in a row, the Holo will explode and blow up everything in a five-yard radius. This serves the purpose of killing them if they get caught and preventing the Holo from falling into enemy hands, and the users getting tortured for information.

‘This one listens to me.’ Boggs explains. He is the commander of their group.

Amalia stays in the background, listening to the others. She hears Gale and Katniss whisper to each other: ‘Why do you think Amalia is on this team?’ Gale asks.

‘Maybe for the moral support, or because she knows what is supposed to happen?’ Katniss suggest: ‘I never saw her train.’

‘She doesn’t need to.’ Finnick says appearing behind them.

‘Why not?’ Gale asks. Katniss nods, wanting to know the answer as well.

Finnick chuckles, he knows Amalia is listening. The other two do not. ‘You would be surprised by her fighting.’ He says: ‘She has been trained by numerous victors.’

Katniss eyes grow big: ‘So maybe she is the biggest asset.’ She thinks about what she said before about herself and Finnick being the best fighters, because of their experience in the games.

Amalia disappears before the meeting ends. Gale. Notices this and looks at her, he points it out to Katniss, who shrugs: ‘We can ask her later where she went.’

……………………..

Amalia goes to the hospital wing. First, she goes to check on Johanna. She needed to be sedated after she went in shock at her last exam. The final test to become a soldier, it’s been designed to test the weakest parts of each person. They put the street underwater. And to Johanna is brought her back to the Capitol. They tortured her with water, throwing it over her and shocking her with electricity.

She’ll stay until she is awake, or at least try to. But she’ll also have to tell Peeta some surprising news. Maybe she’ll do it now. They told her it would take a while for her to wake up. Amalia should be back by then.


	39. Chapter 9

The week before they leave to the Capitol flies by. The team trains each day, Amalia helps everyone. Mostly they work on physique or weapon training. One hour is kept for there special equipment. For Katniss and Gale, it means using their bows. Finnick had his trident. They are all specially upgraded by Beetee. He also made something for Amalia. Actually, he made two things. One is not that big and fits on her belt. She hopes that she’ll not need it, but it’s there, for when things do not go as planned.

She also does have her weapon of choice, a spear, but with the option to get another pointed head out of the other side, so that she can use both ends effectively. And like with the trident Finnick has, she has a bracelet that returns her spear automatically when she presses a button on it. This way she can throw it and retrieve it easily.

Amalia watches when the team practices on figures dressed as the soldiers from the Capitol. It’s to be familiar with the weak spots of their uniforms. She looks aside and sees Plutarch walking their way. Today he will explain their mission, for now, she is the only one who knows what it will be.

‘Hello, everyone.’ Plutarch says. The others turn around and greet him.

‘You’re going to explain it?’ Amalia asks.

Plutarch nods: ‘It’s time that you know what your mission will be.’

‘It’s important and not to be underestimated.’

‘Amalia is right. We have enough snipers, but there is something we do need.’ Plutarch explains: ‘A team with stars, that will be filmed. We can use the material to keep everyone motivated.’

‘Wait.’ Someone says: ‘What does that mean?’

‘Does it mean that we will not fight?’ Gale wants to know.

‘You will be.’ Plutarch says: ‘Just not in the frontline.’

‘That’s not what we signed up for.’ Finnick argues: ‘We want to fight.’

Katniss stays quiet.

‘We think you’ll be most useful this way.’ Plutarch says.

‘As I said, do not underestimate it. You see Katniss complain.’ Amalia asks: ‘That’s because she knows what impact she already had on everyone. By running around in a Mockingjay-suit.’

‘But it would not be all for show, right?’ Katniss asks: ‘There will be real targets?’

‘Probably, it’s still a warzone.’ Amalia responses.

______________________________

The next day it’s time to leave. Katniss hugs her sister one more time before walking towards the hovercraft. She is scanning her surroundings, taking everything in. But when they are almost there, she notices something: ‘Wasn’t Amalia on this team as well?’

‘Yeah.’ Gale says: ‘But she needs to arrange some more things here and will arrive later.’

……………….

The next few days Katniss is jealous of Amalia. At least she would have something useful to do. They either do nothing or they are used as a distraction, to shoot random things in the mountains.

Sometimes they do need a real sniper, but they never pick one of them. Neither Katniss, Finnick or Gale.

‘Gale, it's your own fault that you take so good on camera.’ Katniss jokes when he complains.

He grumbles something under his breath. If looks could kill…

_________________

Amalia is running from one room to another.

…..

Peeta. He needs to be more prepared. They give him extra sessions. Amalia gives him tricks to keep himself whole and true to his own nature. To know what is real and what is fake.

She sees his progress and believes in him; But she did not want to force him this way, not for this, not to give him more purpose in the war. He has done enough, suffered enough…

…

Johanna, she follows her healing progress, explains why she is not in the field. And calms her down again and again.

…

Coin, Amalia listens over and over to what she needs to do. The instructions are repeated multiple times. Coin adds new things each time. There is more to do more to remember and more change than ever before.

…

Annie, she tells her everything will work out. She talks with her as much as she can. She tells her that she’ll be there to protect Finnick. And that she’ll do everything she can to make sure he’ll come back.

…………………………..

It’s a week later that Amalia arrives, but she is not alone. She has Peeta alongside her, his hands cuffed in front of him. He looks up at Amalia. She nods encouragingly.

‘He’ll be going along.’ She tells the others: ‘There is nothing you can say or do that will change my mind.’


End file.
